Siddhartha’s death raises many questions

Mysuru: Now that coffee tycoon V.G. Siddhartha’s body has been found, the question of why he took his own life is haunting not only his family but even the public. This has led to many theories and questions.  

He kept on apologising

V.G. Siddhartha’s driver (Basavaraj Patil) told the Police that while travelling towards Mangaluru, his boss had called someone and kept on saying ‘I am sorry.’ 

Now the question is who had Siddhartha called and why was he profusely apologising? Also was he talking to the same person when he exited the car at the Nethravathi Bridge? 

Then there is the question of the people mentioned without their names in his last letter where he has mentioned of an equity partner who was pressuring him and also an Income Tax officer who he says made life difficult for him. 

Siddhartha’s debts

Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), founded by Siddhartha, had total borrowings of Rs. 6,547.38 crore as of March 2019.  At the end of December 2018, Coffee Day’s overall revenue was Rs. 996.51 crore with a net profit of Rs. 73.15 crore. Siddhartha had cash in hand after selling Mindtree shares for Rs. 3,269 crore with a profit of Rs. 2,858 crore and his gross debt increased 63.54 percent from 4.003.47 crore this March. The Company’s gross debt had spiked 63.54 per cent from Rs. 4,003.47 crore in March 2019. 

Selling of Mindtree shares

The founders of Mindtree were confident of Siddhartha not selling his stakes to lose their hold on the company. Siddhartha had to sell shares because of a liquidity squeeze triggered by default in payments by IL&FS in August.

I-T Department denies

Income Tax Department yesterday refuted charges of harassment harassing Siddhartha and said that its probe against the Coffee King was done as per the provisions of Income Tax Act. 

The I-T department said that Siddhartha fetched Rs. 3,200 crore from the sale of Mindtree shares, but paid only Rs. 46 crore out of total Rs. 300 crore Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT).

The officials have also claimed that the signature of Siddhartha on the last letter under his name “does not match” with records.

CCD shares plunge

Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises continued to plunge even on Day-2 following the death Siddhartha. Share prices fell by 20 percent in the early trading session this morning to hit a 52-week low. Prices of shares had also fallen by 20 percent yesterday soon after the news about Siddhartha broke.