Karnataka leaders condole CCD founder Siddhartha's death, Siddaramaiah calls for fair probe

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa expressed shock and paid heartfelt condolences on his death.

The body of VG Siddhartha was found on Wednesday morning on the banks of Netravati river (Photo| Rajesh Shetty/ EPS)

BENGALURU: After the body of CCD founder VG Siddhartha was found on Wednesday morning on the banks of Netravati river, condolences started pouring in from political leaders across party lines.

Siddhartha was the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa expressed shock and paid heartfelt condolences on his death. "My heart goes with the bereaved family and may God rest his soul in peace," said BS Yediyurappa in a message.

Praising Siddhartha's contribution to Karnataka and India through his entrepreneurship, former Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah tweeted, "Very sad to know about the unfortunate death of Shri. VG Siddhartha. His contribution to Karnataka & India through his entrepreneurship shall be an example & always be remembered. My deepest condolences to Shri. SM Krishna and family members & well-wishers of Siddhartha". The Congress leader also called for a fair and impartial investigation into the death terming it as "mysterious".

The death of V  Siddhartha is both disturbing &mysterious. The reasons & the invisible hands that ended his life in this tragic way should be unearthed through impartial &fair investigation.

Our party & I shall always stand with Shri. S M Krishna in their fight for justice.
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— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 31, 2019

READ| Cafe Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha's last letter: I failed as entrepreneur, faced harassment from I-T

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Congress alleged that he was harassed by Income Tax officials. 

#VGSiddhartha case is very unfortunate.

Result of harassment by IT officials & decline of India’s entrepreneurial position turning virulent by the day, with Tax Terror & collapse of economy

Companies which flourished under UPA have been shut down with many people being jobless pic.twitter.com/rbwUymoM3B

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) July 31, 2019

Following a massive search operation involving multiple agencies, the body of missing CCD founder-owner VG Siddhartha has been found on the banks of Netravati River near Hoige Bazaar in Mangaluru.

"Shocked by the heart-wrenching news of suicide by CCD founder #VGSiddhartha. It is very unfortunate and depressing. My thoughts and prayers are with the aggrieved family members. Om Shanti!" tweeted P Muralidhar Rao, National General-Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The 58-year-old businessman is the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna and went missing since Monday evening from Mangaluru. Siddhartha was spotted last Monday evening at the Netravati Bridge where he had gone for a stroll, Commissioner of Police, Mangalore, Sandeep Patil said.

A massive search operation involving multiple teams of police forces along with the Coast Guard and NDRF was being carried out since Tuesday to locate Siddhartha. Police had also deployed the dog squads and inflatable boats in the search operation and roped in local fishermen to search the river.