Saravana Bhavan founder Rajagopal dead

Saravana Bhavan founder P Rajagopal, convicted in a murder case, died at a private hospital here Thursday, sources said.

Rajagopal, shifted to a private hospital in the city from the state-run Stanley Medical College Hospital following a court direction on Tuesday, died around 10 a.m Thursday, a source close to him told PTI.

Earlier, Rajagopal had surrendered before a local court to serve life sentence in a murder case and had been shifted to Vijaya Hospital, after the Madras High Court passed an interim order on a petition filed by his son.

Founder of the popular South Indian food chain Saravana Bhavan, Rajagopal had surrendered along with another accused earlier to serve life term after the Supreme Court rejected his plea seeking more time on grounds of ill-health.

While upholding the life sentence awarded to Rajagopal for murdering an employee in October 2001 to marry his wife, the Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender in the trial court on July 7.