Lakshmikanthan Murder Case

The Lakshmikanthan murder case (Tamil: லக்ஷ்மிகாந்தன் கொலை வழக்கு) was a high-profile criminal trial that was conducted in the then Madras Presidency between November 1944 and April 1947. The cause of the trial was the murder of C. N. Lakshmikanthan, a Tamil film journalist. Lakshmikanthan was stabbed in Vepery, Madras on November 7, 1944. He died the next morning in General Hospital, Madras. A criminal case was filed and a series of suspects were arrested. The suspects included Tamil film actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and N. S. Krishnan and director S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. While Sreeramulu Naidu was acquitted, Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and Krishnan were found guilty and convicted. Bhagavathar and Krishnan appealed to the Madras High Court, but their appeals were turned down. The duo remained in jail until 1947, when an appeal to the Privy Council was successful and the Council directed the sessions court to make a fresh retrial. Bhagavathar and Krishnan were found to be innocent and acquitted.

The arrest completely broke Bhagavathar's morale. He lost all his money and died in 1959 in penury. Krishnan did a few movies, and some of them were successful.

C. N. Lakshmikanthan or Lakshmikantham was a famous film journalist of Madras Presidency. His foray into journalism began in 1943 when he launched a film weekly called Cinema Thoothu which was extremely successful. He wrote extensive columns devoted to the personal lives of some of the top actors and actresses of the day. Many actors and actresses responded by paying large amounts of money to "buy" his silence. As a result, Lakshmikanthan set up a prosperous vocation.

Eventually, matters reached a standstill when film actors M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and N. S. Krishnan and film director Sreeramulu Naidu submitted a memorandum to the Governor of Madras, Arthur Oswald James Hope, requesting him to revoke the license for the magazine. Hope obliged and the license for the magazine was cancelled. Lakshmikanthan tried to run the magazine with forged documents but, after a few months, he was forced to close shop.

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