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New Delhi (dpa) - An Indian restaurant chain icon known as the "dosa king" who was convicted in a high-profile murder case died on Thursday after suffering a heart attack, police said.
P Rajagopal was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Madras High Court in 2009 for the murder of an employee whose wife he wanted to marry. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in March.
Earlier this month, Supreme Court judges turned down an appeal to delay his sentence on medical grounds. Rajagopal surrendered before the police on July 10, arriving in an ambulance with a oxygen mask strapped to his face. He was admitted to a private hospital.
"Mr Rajagopal passed away this morning following a heart attack at the Vijaya hospital," local police officer Diwakar Radhakrishnan said by phone from the southern coastal city of Chennai.
Hospital doctors also confirmed Rajagopal's death, saying the septuagenarian was suffering from diabetes and kidney-related ailments.
The exact date of the restauranteur's birth is not known.
Rajagopal, who started his 80-outlet global empire in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was determined to marry the wife of his employee based on the advice of an astrologer.
The employee was murdered in October 2001 and his body was found in a national park. Rajagopal was arrested the following year on charges of plotting the killing.
A trial court sentenced him to 10 years in prison in 2004, but the Madras High Court increased this to a life sentence in 2009.
The woman and her family accused Rajagopal of attempts to bribe and intimidate them during the proceedings, which drew considerable attention both in India and abroad.
P Rajagopal was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Madras High Court in 2009 for the murder of an employee whose wife he wanted to marry. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in March.
Earlier this month, Supreme Court judges turned down an appeal to delay his sentence on medical grounds. Rajagopal surrendered before the police on July 10, arriving in an ambulance with a oxygen mask strapped to his face. He was admitted to a private hospital.
"Mr Rajagopal passed away this morning following a heart attack at the Vijaya hospital," local police officer Diwakar Radhakrishnan said by phone from the southern coastal city of Chennai.
Hospital doctors also confirmed Rajagopal's death, saying the septuagenarian was suffering from diabetes and kidney-related ailments.
The exact date of the restauranteur's birth is not known.
Rajagopal, who started his 80-outlet global empire in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was determined to marry the wife of his employee based on the advice of an astrologer.
The employee was murdered in October 2001 and his body was found in a national park. Rajagopal was arrested the following year on charges of plotting the killing.
A trial court sentenced him to 10 years in prison in 2004, but the Madras High Court increased this to a life sentence in 2009.
The woman and her family accused Rajagopal of attempts to bribe and intimidate them during the proceedings, which drew considerable attention both in India and abroad.
