Sikh man jailed for murder had prior report over stolen religious blades

A Sikh man jailed for murdering an 18-year-old student in Southampton had previously been reported to police over the alleged theft of ceremonial religious blades, the Daily Mail reported. Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of murdering Henry Nowak, 18, with an eight-inch kirpan in Southampton city centre in December 2025. Members of Southampton's Sikh community reportedly contacted police in July 2023 over the alleged theft of ceremonial Shastar blades worth around £1,000. The blades were allegedly taken from Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar in Southampton, where Digwa and his brother had been teaching Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial art involving weapons demonstrations. A source at the gurdwara said Digwa was dismissed as a Gatka instructor in August 2023 and was later reported to police over the alleged theft. "We dismissed him as a Gatka teacher in August 2023 and then I reported him to the police for stealing around £1,000 worth of Shastar which was bought with the community's money," the source told the Daily Mail. No charges were brought in connection with the alleged incident. Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was also convicted of assisting an offender after prosecutors said she removed the murder weapon from the scene following the stabbing. Sentencing Digwa to life imprisonment, Judge William Mousley KC told the defendant he had "brought shame upon your family and your religion". The judge also said he was satisfied that Henry Nowak had "said nothing racist" during the encounter, rejecting a key part of Digwa's account of the events leading up to the fatal stabbing.