The Supreme Court (SC,) on the 29th of March, upheld the life imprisonment sentence given to P. Rajagopal, the owner of the popular Saravana Bhavan restaurant chain.
The case dates back to eighteen years ago, when Rajagopal was accused of murdering Prince Santhakumar, the husband of Jeevajothi, whose father worked at Saravana Bhavan.
At the time, Rajagopal already had two wives and at the insistence of his astrologer, he pursued Jeevajothi and pressured her to marry him.
The then 50 year old Rajagopal was adamant about marrying the 20 year old girl. Despite knowing she was in a relationship with Santhakumar, he refused to stop his advances.
Even though Rajagopal threatened the couple, they went ahead and got married in the year 1999. Although Rajagopal showed Jeevajothi how lavishly his second wife lived, Jeevajothi refused to marry him.
Rajagopal’s pursuits grew so over the top, he would interfere with her personal life as well as professional life. From holding the couple hostage, to unsuccessfully forcing Santhakumar to get a test done for AIDS, Rajagopal was relentless in his pursuit of Jeevajothi.
Days after a police complaint was filed by the couple, Rajagopal and his accomplices murdered Santhakumar and dumped the body at Perumalmalai in Kodaikanal.
According to sources, after Rajagopal ordered the death sentence, he warned Santhakumar to run for his life. However, Santhakumar didn’t take the advice seriously and after staying for only a day in Mumbai, returned to Chennai.
Jeevajothi and Santhakumar thought they could escape the advances of Rajagopal if they pleaded to Rajagopal for their life. Unfortunately, Rajagopal refused their pleas and a few days later, Santhakumar was kidnapped and murdered.
When the police found the body, they immediately arrested Rajagopal in the year 2001. Following this, the Madras High Court convicted him under Section 302 (Punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC.) After being held in the prison for eight months, Rajagopal was released on bail on medical grounds. Rajagopal challenged the decision of the Madras High Court in the Supreme Court.
Finally, on the 29th of March 2019, the Supreme Court passed a verdict, saying it upholds the decision of the Madras High Court and passed a life term sentence for Rajagopal and his accomplices.
Rajagopal is expected to surrender himself on or before the 7th of July.
Stay tuned for more updates.
