A White university student bled to death in the street after being arrested because a Sikh man who repeatedly stabbed him with a ceremonial knife told responding police he was a racist, a British court has heard
Henry Nowak, 18, died of four stab wounds inflicted with the 21cm religious dagger carried by Vickrum Diqwa, 23, while he was walking home from a night out in Southampton on December 3 last year.
Mr Digwa is now fighting a murder charge in Southampton Crown Court, and his mother Kiran Kaur, 53, is also on trial charged with assisting an offender by removing a weapon from a murder scene.
The court was told that neighbours heard Mr Nowak say he had been stabbed before trying to escape over a fence, leaving a blood trail, but was “aggressively” pursued by Mr Digwa, who prosecutors said was “carrying an extremely large knife in a sheath openly displayed over his clothing”.
When police arrived Mr Digwa told officers he had been racially abused by a drunk man, and Mr Nowak was handcuffed before being given first aid.
The first-year finance student at Southampton University then collapsed and died a short time later, BBC News and the Daily Mail reported.
“[Mr 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,” Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC told the court.
“Shortly afterwards Henry became unconscious, then police began to set to work to give him first aid and summon an ambulance, a doctor flew in by helicopter but there was nothing that could be done to save Henry and he was declared dead.”
Mr Nowak’s phone was later found in Mr Digwa’s pocket, and a video from the device was played to the jury showing Mr Digwa saying “I am a bad man”.
The court heard Mr Digwa’s mother, father and brother arrived at the scene, and Ms Kaur was caught on video taking the knife back to the family home, where she allegedly stashed it with an arsenal of weapons.
“Analysis of the blade showed it had blood and fatty tissue on it. DNA showed it belonged to Henry. Hair belonging to Mr Vickrum Digwa was found on the knife.” Mr Lobbenberg said.
The prosecutor also told the court there was no religious reason for Mr Digwa to be carrying the knife, which he described as a “shastar” blade much larger than the kirpan type which can be carried by Sikhs in the UK due to a religious legal exemption.
“Sikhism obliges male followers of the faith to carry and wear certain items, these include a wooden comb, a metal bangle and what is called a kirpan, a ceremonial knife,” he said.
“That small kirpan satisfies any religious obligation a Sikh may have to carry a blade and Mr Vickrum Digwa was carrying that under his clothing and around his neck.”
Mr Digwa’s barrister, Jeremy Wainwright KC, told the jury his client was acting in self-defence in the “heat of the moment”, and contested the prosecution’s characterisation of the knife.
“Was Vickrum Digwa carrying a knife or carrying, for legitimate religious purposes, a Kirpan dagger for religious reasons. These are usually from two to nine inches. This blade is eight inches so can still be considered legitimate,” he said.
“Who started this incident? Was it Henry Nowak saying things to Mr Digwa or Mr Digwa saying things to him? The prosecution say there was categorically not a racially motivated attack by Mr Nowak but have they made you sure of that with evidence?
“Was there a deliberate intention by Vickrum Digwa to inflict really serious harm or kill when he used his Kirpan or was he acting in the heat of the moment in self defence? You will be shocked and upset when you see the state of Henry Nowak and when you hear what’s shouted at what is tragically a dying man.
“But did Mr Digwa and his brother at the time realise they were dealing with a dying man, or was their anger generated by someone who was drunk, who had racially attacked them and they weren’t aware of the extent of those injuries?”
The trial continues.
Header image: Henry Nowak (supplied).
