The Supreme Court Friday upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of the P Rajagopal, the owner of the Saravana Bhavan group of hotels, and asked him to surrender by July 7. Rajagopal was convicted for abducting and murdering an employee, Prince Shantakumar, in October 2001 so that he could marry his wife.
Rajagopal was a provision store owner before going on to open Saravana Bhavan, a popular restaurant with branches across the country.
The Madras High Court had convicted him to life in prison in 2009 after finding the case “a grave one done with a clear intention”. It enhanced the 10-year rigorous imprisonment awarded by a special court in 2004 to Rajagopal and five of his accomplices — Daniel, Karmegan, Hussain, Kasi Viswanathan and Patturangan.
The HC has also apart imposed on Rajagopal a fine of Rs 55 lakh, including Rs 50 lakh as compensation to Jeevanjothi.
The case dates back to the late 1990s when Rajagopal set his eyes on a woman named Jeevajothi. She was the daughter of former assistant manager at Saravana Bhava, Ramasamy. Rajagopal, who had two wives at the time, wanted Jeevajothi to become his third. However, she objected to the proposal.
Ramasamy and his family shifted to Chennai sometime before 1999 and he started working in Saravana Bhavan as an Assistant Manager. Meanwhile, he engaged Santhakumar to take math tuition for his son. Later, Ramasamy left for Malaysia and his daughter Jeevajyothi, fell in love with Santhakumar. Ramasamy did not agree to the marriage as Santhakumar was a Christian, but the couple registered their marriage in April 1999.
In 1999, Jeevajothi married Shantakumar, a former tuition teacher who had joined his company. Rajagopal had threatened the couple to break off the marriage, according to the prosecution. But the couple refused to heed to his threats.
A few months later, the newly married couple approached Jeevajyothi’s uncle and Rajagopal for a loan to start a travel agency. Rajagopal, who then became obsessed with her, started calling her on a daily basis and gifting her expensive things like jewellery.
According to reports, Rajagopal had pursued Jeevajyothi, who was then 20, to become his third wife. This was reportedly based on an astrologer’s advice. The man then tried to drive a wedge between the couple, first by making a doctor tell Jeevajyothi that her husband needed to undergo an HIV test. At one point, he gifted her a phone. In 2001, Jeevajyothi threatened to go to the police as Rajagopal started interfering in her life more. He then told her that he would ‘manage police with money’ and boasted that his second wife too had married him under duress, but she was living a ‘queen’s life after’.
Rajagopal also announced to Santhakumar that he intended to marry his wife. When the couple tried to move out of Chennai to an unknown location, Santhakumar was assaulted by Rajagopal and his henchmen. Though the couple went and lodged a police complaint, they were continuously harassed.
On October 1, 2001, the couple filed a complaint with the local police saying they were abducted by Rajagopal’s gang and intimidated. The same month, Shanthakumar was kidnapped from Chennai and taken to Kodaikanal. He was murdered the same day.
In October 2001, Santhakumar was abducted and his wife taken to a village in TN to remove ‘witch craft’ effects on her. Though Rajagopal’s henchman and second accused Daniel claimed that he had killed Santhakumar by leaving him tied to a railway track, Santhakumar was spared. He contacted his wife and the couple confronted Rajagopal. On 26 October 2001, Jeevajyothi, Santhakumar and her family were taken to Tiruchendur. Somewhere along the way Santhakumar was separated from the rest of the family and murdered. His body was found in the hill station of Kodaikanal.
Rajagopal surrendered on November 23 that year after the case became sensational. He got bail on July 15, 2003.
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What a shame. Such people should be given life for life punishment.