The 36-hour intense search to rescue Cafe Coffee Day owner VG Siddhartha ended on Wednesday morning after fishermen found his body in the backwaters of the Nethravati river at Hoige Bazaar, Mangaluru.
VG Siddhartha, the founder of Cafe Coffee Day, went missing near the Netravathi bridge here on July 29. He has been found dead after the rescue team found his body on the banks of the river near Hoigebazar early on July 31.
The identity of the body has been confirmed by his relatives based on the ring on his finger, phone, watch and shoes. The body, which had washed ashore near Ullal was discovered by fishermen following which police reached the spot.
His body has been kept at Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru, from where it will be taken to Chettanahalli estate near Mudigere. The cremation is likely to be held today.
The police had launched a massive search operation Tuesday with teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Coast Guard, Home Guard, fire services and coastal police scouring the swollen Nethravathi river.
In a letter written by Siddhartha to the directors of Coffee Day Enterprises, a company he founded, the entrepreneur had apologised for letting down people and cited pressure from private equity investors and harassment by tax authorities.