THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rajendran, the accused in the Vineetha murder case, had targetted another woman. The accused, who worked in a tea shop in Peroorkada, came to Ambalamukku with the intention of snatching a chain on lockdown day.

Rajendran followed another woman from Ambalamukku to Kuravankonam Road, where the plant nursery was located. In the meantime, he lost sight of the woman he first targetted. Following this, he saw Vineetha watering the plants in the nursery. He then entered the nursery on the pretext of buying pots. He was not able to give a proper answer when she asked him what kind of pot he wanted. With this, Vineetha became suspicious. He attacked her with a knife when she began to scream. He then took her gold chain and fled the scene after confirming her death.

His method is to kill anyone who tries to retaliate or defend themselves during a robbery. He had returned to Peroorkada the next day after the murder. At this time, police were conducting a search for the culprit in the whole city. The accused, who reached Peroorkada, asked for leave. He sustained an injury on his hand during the crime. This injury turned out to be a piece of crucial evidence for the police to arrest him. Police's search for the culprit across labour camps ended up in Rajendran, who left for Tamil Nadu after sustaining an injury. Police also found that Rajendran had a resemblance with the suspect seen in the CCTV footage.

The police then went to Tamil Nadu and examined the police records in Nagercoil to find out that Rajendran had been convicted of murder before and that he was a criminal.