Live updates: VG Siddhartha cremated at his ancestral village in Karnataka

Global buyout major KKR has said it is "deeply saddened" by the disappearance of VG Siddharth, the promoter of its investee company the coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day since Monday evening. In a purported letter sent to the company board and the employees of the coffee chain he founded, Siddharth had on July 27 said he was under pressure from one of the private equity partners to buy back shares.

The Income Tax Department has acted as per law in its probe against Café Coffee Day (CCD) promoter V G Siddhartha, official sources said on Tuesday, after a letter purportedly written by him accused tax authorities of harassment. In the letter, Siddhartha, who has gone missing on his way to Mangaluru from Bengaluru in Karnataka, said there was a lot of harassment from the Income Tax Department in the form of attaching "our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taking position of our Coffee Day shares, although revised returns have been filed by us".

Global buyout major KKR has said it is "deeply saddened" by the disappearance of KG Siddharth, the promoter of its investee company the coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day since Monday evening. In a purported letter sent to the company board and the employees of the coffee chain he founded, Siddharth had on July 27 said he was under pressure from one of the private equity partners to buy back shares. KKR in a statement said it had invested in the popular coffee chain nine years ago and part-exited the investment last year.

Coffee Day Global Limited located on the outskirts of Hassan has declared a holiday for its employees.

The Indian Coast Guard on Tuesday said it has deployed a ship off the old Mangalore port to search for VG Siddhartha, the founder of the Café Coffee Day.

Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd dropped 20 per cent on Tuesday after news surfaced that its Chairman and Managing Director V G Siddhartha has gone missing. The scrip tumbled 20 per cent and hit its lower circuit limit as well as its 52-week low of Rs 154.05 on the BSE. At the NSE, shares cracked 20 per cent and fell to its 52-week low of Rs 153.40. In a filing to the BSE on Tuesday morning, the company said "V G Siddhartha, chairman and managing director of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited is not reachable since yesterday evening. We are taking the help of concerned authorities," Coffee Day Enterprises said in a regulatory filing.

A group of Karnataka BJP MPs led by Shobha Karandlaje on Tuesday met home minister Amit Shah and sought central help to trace missing Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) founder V G Siddhartha. Karandlaje informed the home minister that Siddartha is a resident of her Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency and he is found to be missing since July 29 from Dakshina Kannada district.