V. G. Siddhartha
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Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde ( – 29 July 2019) was an Indian businessman from
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. He was the founder of the cafe chain
Café Coffee Day Café Coffee Day (CCD) is an Indian multinational chain of coffeehouses headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is a subsidiary of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited. Internationally, CCD is present in Austria, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Nepal and ...
and was its chairman and managing director. He was on the board of directors of
Mindtree Mindtree Limited was an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company, headquartered in Bangalore. Mindtree was acquired by Larsen & Toubro in 2019, before being merged with L&T Infotech (LTI) in 2022 to form L ...
, GTV, Liqwid Krystal, Way2wealth Brokers, Coffee Day Natural Resources, and Way2wealth Securities. After going missing on the evening of 29 July 2019, his body was found by three fishermen at the Hoige Bazaar beach, near the mouth of the river
Nethravati The Netravati River or Netravathi Nadi has its origins at Bangrabalige valley, Yelaneeru Ghat in Kudremukha in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India. This river flows through the famous pilgrimage place Dharmasthala and is considered on ...
on 31 July.


Early life

Veerappa Gangaiah Siddhartha Hegde was born to Gangaiah Hegde in the
Malenadu Malnad (or Malenadu) is a region in the state of Karnataka, India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats mountain range and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. It includes the districts of Uttara Kannada,Shivamog ...
region of
Chikkamagaluru Chikmagalur (officially Chikkamagaluru, ), previously known as ''Kiriya-Muguli'' is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri, Mullayanagiri peak of the We ...
district in
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
State. He hailed from a very affluent family of coffee planters belonging to the
Vokkaliga Vokkaliga (also transliterated as Vokkaligar, Vakkaliga, Wakkaliga, Okkaligar, Okkiliyan) is a community of closely related castes, from the Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. As a community of warriors and cultivators they have historical ...
community. He received a master's degree in economics from St. Aloysius College and
Mangalore University Mangalore University commonly known as, MU is a public university in Konaje, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. In 2021, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) awarded Mangalore University 'B' grade. As on 2024, Prof. P L Dharma took ...
, Karnataka.


Career

At the age of 24, he joined J M Financial Limited in 1983–1984 in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
as a management trainee/intern in portfolio management and securities trading on the Indian stock market. After two years, he returned to Bangalore. With capital given by his father, Siddhartha bought stocks worth ₹30,000 and started the company Sivan Securities. In 1999, it was renamed Way2wealth Securities Ltd. Its venture capital division came to be known as Global Technology Ventures (GTV). He established his coffee trading company ABC in Karnataka 1993, with a ₹6 crore turnover. He bought an ailing coffee curing unit in Hassan for ₹4 crore and improved it. The company now has the largest curing capacity in India at 75,000 tonnes. He was the first entrepreneur in Karnataka to set up a café in 1996 (
Café Coffee Day Café Coffee Day (CCD) is an Indian multinational chain of coffeehouses headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is a subsidiary of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited. Internationally, CCD is present in Austria, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Nepal and ...
, a chain of "youth hangout" coffee parlors). By 2018, the chain had over 1700 cafés in India. His cafes attract 40,000 to 50,000 visitors a week. Siddhartha also held board seats in GTV,
Mindtree Mindtree Limited was an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company, headquartered in Bangalore. Mindtree was acquired by Larsen & Toubro in 2019, before being merged with L&T Infotech (LTI) in 2022 to form L ...
, Liqwid Krystal, Way2Wealth, and Ittiam. In 2000, he founded Global Technology Ventures Ltd, a company that identifies, invests in, and mentors Indian companies engaged in technologies. GTV set up
Global Village Tech Park Sattva Global City (formerly Global Village Tech Park) is a software technology park in Bangalore, India. The park is in Kengeri off Mysore Road, behind the R.V. College of Engineering. It is about 4 km away from Kengeri railway stati ...
on a plot as an incubator park in Bangalore, providing office space, communication links, recreational facilities, and a commercial centre. In 1999, GTV was valued by BankAm at $100 million. He planted banana trees on 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) and had plans to export bananas. The Dark Forest Furniture Company is named after V. G. Siddhartha's Kathale Kaad (Dark Forest in Kannada) estate in
Chikmagalur Chikmagalur (officially Chikkamagaluru, ), previously known as ''Kiriya-Muguli'' is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri, Mullayanagiri peak of the We ...
. Sical Logistics Ltd, a logistics company founded in India in 1955, was acquired by Coffee Day group in 2011. On 21 September 2017, a tax raid was conducted at more than 20 of V. G. Siddhartha's locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Chikmagalur by senior officers of the Income Tax Department of Karnataka and Goa regions.


Personal life

Siddhartha was married to Malavika Krishna and had two children Amartya Hegde and Ishaan Hegde. His son Amartya married to D. K. Shivakumar daughter Aishwarya Shivakumar on 14 February 2021. Siddhartha was the son-in-law of S. M. Krishna, the
Chief Minister of Karnataka The Chief minister (India), chief minister of Karnataka is the Head of government, chief executive officer of the Government of Karnataka, government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnatak ...
, Indian Minister for External Affairs and
Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor; however, the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Minister ...
.


Death

On the evening of 29 July 2019, he told his driver to stop as they approached the bridge over the Nethravati River in
Ullal Ullal or ''Uḷḷāla'' is a City in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. Ullal City Municipal Council along with the Mangaluru City Corporation forms the continuous Mangaluru urban agglomeration area which is currently the ...
,
Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...
. He directed the driver to wait for him at the other end of the bridge giving an impression that he wanted to take a stroll. The driver reported to the police that he did not show up even after an hour; which led to a search of the area for him. The
Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and Exclusive economic zone of India, exclusive economic zone. It was st ...
and
National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is a specialized force in India, tasked with the responsibility of responding to natural disasters, natural and man-made disasters. It operates under the National Disaster Management Authority (India) ...
eventually joined a search. A
letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...
, apparently written by Siddhartha and addressed to his company board, shareholders, and family, surfaced a few hours after he went missing. This letter detailed the unbearable pressure he was subjected to over the years and the harassment he faced under the "previous" Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) (referred to as DG in the letter). His body was found at the Hoige Bazaar beach on 31 July around 6:30 am by local fishermen who informed the police. His body was cremated at Chethanahalli coffee estate owned by his family in Chikkamagalur district on 31 July 2019. A police investigation into his death, reported suicide by drowning as the cause.


Awards

*"Entrepreneur of the Year" for 2002–03 by ''
The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...
'' *"NextGen Entrepreneur" by ''
Forbes India ''Forbes India'' is the Indian edition of ''Forbes'', which is managed by the Reliance Industries-owned media conglomerate, Network 18. History and profile Since its founding in 2008, ''Forbes India'' has achieved a circulation of 50,000 copies ...
'' in 2011


See also

*
List of solved missing person cases Lists of solved missing person cases include: * List of solved missing person cases: pre-1950 * List of solved missing person cases: 1950–1999 * List of solved missing person cases: post-2000 See also

* List of kidnappings * List of murder ...


References


External links


V. G. Siddhartha Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddhartha, V.G. 1959 births 2019 deaths 2010s missing person cases Businesspeople from Karnataka Businesspeople in coffee Formerly missing Indian people Kannada people Missing person cases in India People from Chikmagalur Suicides by drowning Suicides in India Former billionaires