Mangaluru: The post-mortem report of Café Coffee Day founder-chairman V G Siddhartha has been released by the Wenlock Hospital.

According to the preliminary report submitted to case investigative officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mangaluru South, Kodandarama, the cause of Siddhartha’s death is asphyxiation by drowning.

The post-mortem was carried out by forensic experts under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner, Mangaluru, Ravichandra Nayak.

It can be recalled that Siddhartha went missing on the evening of July 29, after he asked his driver to drop him by the Ullal Bridge over the Netravathi River.

It was suspected by many that the coffee baron committed suicide by jumping into the river, as the dog squad traced his last movements to a spot on the bridge.

His body was finally found by fishermen along the banks of the Netravathi river near Mulihithlu in Hoige Bazar on July 31, around 36 hours after search operations began.