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Thookumedai Rajagopal

(Tamilnadu)

Thookumedai Rajagopal known as Thookumedai Rajagopal Nadar was born in Arumukaneri, Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu, India. Under the leadership of Rajagopala Nadar, a group of freedom fighters entered the area and set fire to a shed. In their attempt to escape, they overpowered the guards on duty, disarmed them, and an English officer named W. Loane Durai, who resided nearby in Uppalat, was awakened by the commotion. He confronted these freedom fighters despite a shortage of ammunition and engaged them using the bayonet of his firearm. The assembled freedom fighters ultimately overcame and fatally wounded Lone Durai through stabbing and slashing, as documented in the Thoothukudi District Gazetteer.

The murder trial was concluded in February 1943, and the verdict was delivered, sentencing Rajagopala Nadar to death, with the execution scheduled for April 30, 1943. Although an appeal was filed on his behalf in the Madras High Court, the death sentence was affirmed there as well. A federal court, akin to the Supreme Court, also upheld the conviction. Congress leader and lawyer R. Venkatraman, along with S. Krishnamurthy, presented the case before the Privy Council in London. In the event of necessity, Rajaji was prepared to travel to London and advocate on his behalf. The British government, in an attempt to prevent Rajaji from traveling to London, advised the Governor General of India to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. As a result, on April 23, 1945, the Governor General issued the Commutation of Sentence Order. Two years later, upon India’s independence, they were all released. Rajagopala Nadar was commonly referred to as ‘Thookumedai’ Rajagopal, and a memorial pillar was erected in 1997 in Kulasekarapatnam to commemorate this historic event.