30 March 2004 :

U.K. Venugopal was sentenced to death by a fast track court in Manjeri, India, after being found guilty of murdering his employer. According to prosecution, Venugopal, 48, a native of Ottapalam and resident of Kozhikode, killed 74-year-old Major Nicholas in April 1992 and set ablaze his house after committing the crime. Venugopal reportedly decided to kill Nicholas after the latter started demanding repayment of the money that Venugopal had borrowed from him. Though police initially suspected it to be a case of accidental fire, it was reopened after locals went on a protest suspecting it to be an act of murder. The Crime Branch police, who later investigated the case, arrested Venugopal in August 1998. Awarding capital punishment after finding the accused guilty, Judge K P Sujatha said the convict deserved the death penalty for his `modus operandi' to kill a highly-reputed person in the society. Major Nicholas was also a leader of the Vyapari Ekopana Samiti, a traders association.