Rajagopal was found to have kidnapped and killed Jeevajothi's husband in 2001, for which he was convicted in 2004.
P Rajagopal, the founder of famous South Indian food chain Saravana Bhavan, is in a critical condition and has been put on a ventilator. He suffered a massive cardiac arrest on July 14 night.
Interestingly, Rajagopal was to surrender on July 7 to serve life imprisonment for murdering the husband of an employee's daughter in October 2001.
According to an India Today report, Rajagopal's appeal against the Madras High Court order upholding the trial court's judgement convicting him was rejected by the Supreme Court in March this year.
Jeevajothi, the daughter of an assistant manager at one of Saravana Bhavan's Chennai branches, went on to marry a man she loved despite Rajagopal wanting to marry her.
The India Today report said Rajagopal wanted to marry Jeevajothi as an astrologer had told him to marry one Jeevajothi to become one of the richest in the country. Rajagopal then was already married with two wives.
Rajagopal was found to have kidnapped and killed Jeevajothi's husband in 2001, for which he was convicted in 2004. He was sentenced to serve 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Rajagopal challenged the sessions court verdict in the Madras High Court but was given life imprisonment in 2009.
Rajagopal appealed against the Madras High Court verdict in the Supreme Court. He was then asked to surrender on July 7.
He appealed again due to his ill-health. This was also rejected by the apex court.
