Twenty-year-old Shanker Venkatesan was known as an intelligent loner with a passion for body building.

Head down, Shanker was always seen in public dressed in black, boots unlaced, and carrying a black sports bag. He was bullied at school before being expelled in 1997 and by the time of his death, he had withdrawn completely from his family and friends.

Those who knew Shanker also described a physical transformation from a skinny 17-year-old into a 24-stone giant, but said a strong air of depression remained.

"Something went strange in him," said Mark Howard, 22, an IT engineer, who knew Shanker when they were 15-year-old boys. "When I came back from university he wouldn't speak to anyone.

"I used to go to his flat in Holgate Court a lot. If I had problems with work he would help me and I would help him with computer work.

"There was nothing unusual about his room. He never messed around with explosives. He was always interested in current affairs.

"I heard he converted to Islam, but I'd lost touch with him by then."

Aged 15, Shanker was expelled from the Edgware School for breaking the nose of another pupil of the same age and went instead to Canons Park High school in Queensbury.

Edgware School headteacher Philip Hearne said he was the first pupil he expelled at the school. "Shanker was a very bright young man. I did not know him beforehand, I only came across him analysing exam grades. The assault was a one-off incident as far as I know."

Perhaps to afford himself some protection from the bullies, Shanker began working out. He joined the Physique Innovations gym in Stonegrove, Edgware, and was known by shopkeepers as The Hulk'.

Michael Fury, the gym owner, said the submissive young man, who liked to be known as Raj', came in for a workout just hours before his death.

"He was a power lifter the only one in the gym. He talked very submissively, if he had to talk at all. His black bag containing his weightlifting gear went everywhere with him.

"Gymgoers said he had turned down door work in bars because of the violence involved. Maybe he had been in trouble when he was younger and wanted to avoid it."

Shanker was also registered at the Genesis gym in Alperton, west London, and was known to have taken steroids for ages', but Mr Fury said the drugs do not cause mental problems.

Neighbour Michael James, of Kings Drive, watched how Shanker became increasingly isolated.

"He used to come home and lock himself in his room. His mother couldn't talk to him. I used to see him just sitting on a bench outside the Broadwalk shopping centre in Edgware with a loaf of bread and a two-litre bottle of water.

"He wasn't the kind of guy you would want to approach. He looked as though he would flip at any moment. His head was down but he was looking around and knew what was going on.

"He behaved as though he was hiding something and now we know he was. Not even his mother knew what he was up to."

August 21, 2002 17:00