Sikh Man Convicted of Murdering 18-Year-Old Student With Dagger After False Racism Claim

Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old first-year student at the University of Southampton, was fatally stabbed on a residential street in Southampton, England, in December 2025. Vickrum Digwa, 23, used an 8-inch sheathed Sikh dagger to kill Nowak and also carried a small kirpan.

Digwa was convicted of murder in Southampton Crown Court and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years on June 1, 2026.

Judge William Mousley ruled that Digwa lied about being the victim of a racist attack by Nowak. “You are the only person to make that claim and it is completely at odds with his previous character,” the judge told Digwa. Mousley said Digwa’s actions stirred up racial tension in Southampton and across the country and made many Sikhs worried about their own safety.

Bodycam video showed Nowak lying on his back telling arriving officers he had been stabbed while they handcuffed him. Nowak repeatedly said he could not breathe. An officer responded, “You’ve been stabbed?

Whereabouts? ” After handcuffing Nowak, officers laid him on his side and searched for stab wounds. When they discovered the injuries, they uncuffed him and began CPR, according to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Digwa had reported to police that he was the victim of a racist attack and claimed Nowak knocked off his turban and pulled his hair. Officers initially appeared to accept the account. Police later apologized to Nowak’s family and stated that the lies told by Digwa had misled officers.

Mark Nowak, the victim’s father, spoke to reporters outside Southampton Crown Court on June 1, 2026. He said the case was not about racism or religion and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets rather than further division, hatred or tension.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and that there were questions to be answered about how accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rejected claims of different policing standards for different communities and urged members of Parliament not to allow the murder to turn communities against one another. She said the government is trying to sharply reduce knife crime. Nigel Farage said the case was an example of two-tier policing and urged people to respond with pure cold rage.

He called for an end to anti-white prejudice and the promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as Black lives. Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said it is devastating that officers did not believe Henry when he said he had been stabbed and could not breathe, and that the details of the police response raise serious concerns about police impartiality, fairness and judgment.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the conduct of officers from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.

Mahmood said online rumors had led to death threats against an officer who was not involved in the arrest. Kiran Kaur, 53, Digwa’s mother, was convicted of assisting an offender after trying to hide the murder weapon and will be sentenced on July 17. Hundreds of people protested outside Southampton police station on June 2, 2026.

A large group walked to an area near where Nowak was killed and clashed with riot police, pelting them with chairs, rocks and flares. Tommy Robinson attended the protest. In the United Kingdom, people are not allowed to carry bladed weapons except for pocketknives whose cutting edge is no longer than 3 inches.

Sikhs are allowed to carry ceremonial knives known as kirpans for religious reasons.