MYSURU: Less than a month after Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the Netravathi river in Mangaluru, his father and coffee plantation owner Gangaiah Hegde breathed his last at a private hospital in Mysuru on Sunday. He was 96, and had been admitted to Shanthaveri Gopalgowda Hospital after suffering a fall in his house over a month ago.
Hegde had suffered a head injury from the fall, and was in a coma for some time. Though he regained consciousness, he slipped into a coma again, and the ups and downs continued.
He was in hospital for about a month and 20 days. However, his condition continued to deteriorate further, and though doctors tried their best to revive him, there was no hope at the end. He passed away on Sunday at around 3 pm, Dr H V Santhrupt of the hospital told TNIE.
The body was later taken to Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru district by road at about 4.30 pm. According to a member of the family Halappa Gowda, Gangaiah Hegde will be cremated at their Chetanahalli estate on Monday.
Three days before going missing on July 29, the late Siddhartha had come down to Mysuru and spent some time at the hospital with his father. A photo of a pensive Siddhartha seated on a chair next to his father’s bed in the ward had gone viral online.
Hegde would look after the family’s coffee plantations in Chetanahalli, Mudigere taluk. He was born to Veerappa Hegde and Sheshamma Heggadithi on February 6, 1924.