THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tech savvy, well versed in cryptocurrency trading and a brutal psychopath, who finds pleasure in stabbing to death his victims. That's the dossier the state police have so far made out on Rajendran, a 49-year-old man from Thovala in Kanyakumari district, who is accused of murdering a woman at Ambalamukku on February 6.
Members of the police team probing the case said they found Rajendran a tough nut to crack given his experience in dealing with cops. Rajendran, accused of four murders in Tamil Nadu, knew how the interrogation works.
A senior officer revealed that during the initial stage of the questioning, they could not crack him, despite employing various tactics. Finally they played the emotional card to break him.
The cops told him about the financial difficulties that the murdered woman, Vineetha, was facing. They also told him that the victim was a widow and earned a mere Rs 8,000 per month, which was barely enough to feed her kids.
That was the first time they saw Rajendran showing some degree of remorse for his act. "On hearing about Vineetha, he said 'Thappu senjitten, sir (I made a mistake)'. That's how he started speaking," said the officer.
Control Room ACP Prathapan Nair, who was part of the probe team, said that Rajendran exhibited psychopathic behaviour. "He always kept a sharp weapon with him, though his intention was to rob people. He is a reserved man, but if the victims resisted his robbery attempt, he would transform into a beast. He stabs the middle of their throat with the weapon," he said. The attack ruptures the vocal chord so that victims cannot cry aloud. Also, the injury results in instant death, Nair said.
The interrogators said Rajendran was strong-willed and making him talk has been a tough task. "He recognises the ranks of the cops and will talk only to the seniors. That too only if he wants," sources said. The reluctance to open up has also affected the speed of the probe.
However, the cops have painstakingly stitched together the pieces of evidence they had retrieved so far. He used to make money trading in cryptocurrencies and used to send some part of the gain to his sister-in-law.
After pawning off the stolen gold from Vineetha, he invested Rs 32,000 from it in a cryptocurrency trading site and got a return of Rs 1.4 lakh within two days. The cash, he revealed, was to meet the legal expenses of previous crimes.
Rajendran, said to be a commerce post-graduate, is equally aware of how the CCTV cameras worked. On the day of the murder, he covered his face with a handkerchief when he came across one.
Rajendran's role in Irinjalakuda murder?
The Crime Branch is likely to question Rajendran in Irinjalakuda Anees murder case. The 58-year-old woman was found dead with injuries on her neck in November 2019. The Crime Branch has so far failed to make any headway in the probe and Rajendran could be questioned as there was some similarity in the murders of Anees and Vineetha.