RESTAURANT chain Saravana Bhavan founder P Rajagopal died at a private hospital here on Thursday, days after he surrendered to serve a life sentence for killing an employee in 2001 to marry his wife. Rajagopal, 73, died around 10 am of “septic shock” at Vijaya Health Centre, sources at the hospital said, refusing to give further details. He was shifted to the private facility on Tuesday from the State-run Stanley Medical College Hospital following a High Court order after his son filed an appeal, saying his father’s condition was deteriorating.
Rajagopal had surrendered on July 9 to serve the life term after the Supreme Court rejected his plea seeking more time on grounds of ill-health. Soon after he was arrested, he got admitted to “convict ward” of the State-run hospital here. Rajagopal’s appeal against the Madras High Court order upholding the trial court’s judgment convicting him was rejected by the apex court in March this year. The High Court had in 2009 enhanced to life term the 10-year imprisonment given by a local court to Rajagopal and eight others in the murder case.
