P Rajagopal is the founder and Chairman of highly successful chain of vegetarian restaurants, named Saravana Bhavan. He was sentenced to life for the abduction and murder of a bright young man Santhakumar in 2009 by Madras High Court. After ten years, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the conviction.This case is also a sad reminder of old adage – Justice delayed is justice denied. Rajagopal had plotted the murder of Shantakumar in 2001. He was briefly incarcerated. The High Court had also given him bail owing to his right to appeal to the Supreme Court. And, now 18 years after murdering a young man he will go to jail for life. He is already old with lots of medical complications. There is quite a high possibility that he will be shifted to a hospital and continue to have all amenities.
Rajagopal murdered Santhakumar because of his love for later’s wife. Santhakumar was a math teacher to the son of Ramaswamy, an employee of Rajagopal. Over time, he fell in love with Jeevajothi, the daughter of Ramaswamy. They married against the wishes of Ramaswamy. However, when Rajagopal saw Jeevjothi he fell for her. He tried every trick on the book to have sex with her. When he sensed that there is no possibility as long as Santhakumar is alive, he plotted the murder.