Tamil Nadu man gets death sentence in 2022 Kerala murder case
The convict was also fined ₹4 lakh by the court and in case of default of the fine, there would be additional imprisonment for five years and a month
A court in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday handed over death sentence to a 42-year-old Tamil Nadu man who was convicted earlier this month of murdering a 38-year-old Kerala woman employed at a plant nursery in 2022.
The convict Rajendran, originally from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, was ordered to be “hanged by the neck till he is dead” by judge Prasun Mohan of Thiruvananthapuram Additional District and Sessions Court VII for the murder of Vineetha on February 6, 2022.
He was also fined ₹4 lakh by the court and in case of default of the fine, there would be additional imprisonment for five years and a month. The fines are to be paid to the minor children of Vineetha who are living with their grandparents, the court said.
Stating that the convict is also an accused in the case of 2014 murder of three of a family in Kanyakumari, in which the trial is progressing in a lower court, the prosecution in the Vineetha case argued before the court that Rajendran was a serial killer who posed a threat to society and had no chances of reformation. The trial court accepted the prosecution’s argument.
“There were no eyewitnesses to the murder. So we had to reply on circumstantial and scientific evidence along with forensic clues to pin the charges on the accused. We have been successful in doing that. The accused uses a moderus operandi that’s brutal and inhuman. He killed Vineetha in Trivandrum while he was out on bail in a triple homicide case in TN. So it’s very clear that he is a threat to society,” public prosecutor Salahudeen told reporters.
Vineetha’s mother said she was satisfied with the court’s verdict on the death sentence.
“If he (Rajendran) is released in the open, there is no doubt that he would kill more women for their gold. By killing Vineetha, he has also left her children orphaned. Her husband had passed away years ago. Anyone who helps him file appeals in the higher court should know that they would be stamping over the tears of us parents and her two children,” she said.
On April 10, the accused Rajendran was convicted by Judge Mohan under section 302 (murder), 447 (criminal trespass), 397 (robbery causing grievous hurt or death) and 201 (destruction of evidence) under the IPC.
The police had found that Rajendran, who has degrees in history and economics, was addicted to online stock trading and turned to committing burglaries and murders in order to fund his investments.
On February 6, 2022, the Tamil Nadu man entered the plant nursery where Vineetha worked in the guise of buying pots and proceeded to stab at her neck from behind with a knife. He then fled with the 4.5 sovereigns of gold chain she was wearing. Stains of his blood, incurred during the tussle with Vineetha, on the wall of the shop proved to be a key piece of evidence for the prosecution.