P Rajagopal, the founder of the Saravana Bhavan restaurant chain, died at a hospital in Chennai on Thursday morning, The Indian Express reported. The 72-year-old died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case and had surrendered on July 9, hours after the Supreme Court rejected his petition seeking more time.

Rajagopal was first sentenced to 10 years in jail by a trial court in 2004. The Madras High Court in 2009 sentenced Rajagopal and five others for the murder of Prince Santhakumar in 2001. Santhakumar was the husband of the daughter of a Saravana Bhavan employee, who Rajagopal wanted to marry. Five others were sentenced to three and two years of imprisonment.

In March, the Supreme Court upheld the order of the Madras High Court and gave the 11 convicts time till July 7 to surrender before a trial court. Nine of them surrendered before a sessions court on the Madras High Court premises in Chennai on Monday, following which they were sent to the Central Prison.