Aware of reports probing authenticity: Coffee Day

New Delhi: Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd on Tuesday said it is aware of reports questioning the authenticity of the signature on the purported letter written by late founder VG Siddhartha and is cooperating with regulatory authorities on this issue.

The purported letter, which is believed to be the final note by the late promoter and widely circulated on social media, contained statements alleging harassment on VG Siddhartha by the Income Tax department.

In a reply to the clarification sought by the bourses on the issue, Coffee Day Enterprises said, "the company is aware of the news report" and added that it is "co-operating with regulatory authorities in relation to the letter and related matter."

On July 30, BSE had sought clarification from Coffee Day Enterprises over reports that Siddhartha's signatures on the purported letter were not matching with his signature on other documents.

VG Siddhartha was confirmed dead on July 31, after his body was found in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, a day after he went missing.

On the same day, Coffee Day Enterprises had named independent director S V Ranganath as the interim chairman of the company.

In the purported letter, dated July 27, 2019 Siddhartha had said there was a lot of harassment from the previous DG of the Income Tax Department in the form of attaching.