DISTRESSING CONTENT Henry Nowak was dismissed by police as he lay dying in Southampton last year, with new footage showing the teen being told ‘I’m not sure you have mate’ after he said he was stabbed
Sickening new footage has captured the moment Henry Nowak was handcuffed before being left for dead after he was stabbed by a man wielding a ceremonial Sikh dagger.
Henry, 18, was murdered in Southampton in December last year by Vickrum Digwa, who stabbed his victim with an eight-inch blade he said he carried as part of his faith. Digwa had then told a “wicked” lie to responding police officers, claiming he had been racially abused by Mr Nowak, who Southampton Crown Court heard was handcuffed and dismissed by officers, and left to choke to death on his own blood.
Digwa, 23, has since been convicted of his murder and sentenced to life in prison for a minimum of 21 years, with harrowing new video footage showing the moment dying Mr Nowak repeatedly told police “I can’t breathe”.
Digwa killed Mr Nowak with an eight-inch blade(Image: CPS/PA Wire)
The new footage, captured on a body camera by a Hampshire Police officer, starts with police arriving at the scene. Mr Nowak can be seen slumped against a house and being held upright by Digwa’s father, Moga Singh, while his killer son claims to have been injured by Mr Nowak in a racially-aggravated act of violence in which his turban was knocked off. He claimed to jurors during his trial that Nowak had used racist words towards him during their altercation.
Southampton Crown Court was told that Digwa, who the video shows does not have his turban on as police arrived at the scene, likely took his own turban off beforehand. Digwa complains he has a “swollen eye and a little bruise”, before Mr Nowak can be heard saying “I’ve been stabbed”, to which an officer replies: “Lets get you out of here shall we?”
The officer then begins shuffling the teen’s body across the gravel of the property he was found on, while he says “I’ve been stabbed” again and complains he “can’t breathe”. After saying he was stabbed another time, one of the officers says: “You’ve been stabbed? Whereabouts?” The officer then adds: “I don’t think you have mate.”
Henry Nowak was murdered with a ceremonial knife by Vickrum Digwa, who spun a “wicked lie” to try to evade justice(Image: Family/Solent News)
He is then handcuffed by the officer while continuing to say “I can’t breathe”, adding he has been stabbed in the face before he is laid on his side and read his rights. The court heard that, as he was being arrested, Mr Nowak was suffering from eight stab wounds inflicted by Digwa, who wielded a 21cm (eight inch) blade.
Mr Nowak’s father said following Digwa’s sentencing that the 23-year-old was “solely and 100 percent responsible for the brutal murder of our son”, but decried the “inhumane and degrading” treatment by police. He said: “Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police custody. The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading.
Henry Nowak was left to choke on his own blood after police doubted he was stabbed(Image: Hampshire Police/PA Wire)
“His murderer, however, was afforded decency. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested. He was not handcuffed when transported to the police station. As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all. And, as Vickrum Digwa himself told the court, while under arrest for Henry’s murder, police even took him to the kitchen so he could choose his food. The contrast is unbearable.”
His family described Mr Nowak in a statement as “our kind, intelligent and talented son”, adding he “was loved by all those that knew him”. They said in a statement: “Our hearts ache when we think of the bright future he had ahead of him, full of opportunity and adventures.” The family also said that they were “proud of him and all he achieved”, adding: “Our world will never be the same without our amazing Henry.”
In another victim personal statement, Henry Nowak’s stepfather said his stepson was not racist, stating the teen would “not tolerate racism, sexism or bullying”. The statement read out in court said: “He treated people with respect and kindness and that is something I admired deeply.” It added: “He was deeply loved and brought so much positivity into the lives of those around him.”
Henry – whose family said “would not tolerate racism, sexism or bullying” – was seen just hours before his death last year(Image: CPS/Solent News)
Digwa’s family have now apologised both to the family of Henry and for bringing the Sikh community into “disrepute”. The statment, issued through the Sikh Press Association, comes as Digwa’s mum, Kiran Kaur, awaits sentencing for assisting an offender by taking the knife used to kill Henry back to the nearby family home. The 53-year-old will be sentenced on July 17 once a pre-sentence report has been prepared.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told his Cabinet the police watchdog’s investigation into how officers handled the case of murder victim Henry Nowak amid outrage over his treatment must “be carried out as quickly as possible and answers delivered,” Downing Street said.
Meanwhile, Digwa, his brother and father are set to appear in court this afternoon facing multiple weapons charges. Digwa faces six counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place. The alleged weapons are a flick knife, an extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete, swords and kusaris – a type of Japanese handheld weapon with a weight at the end, sometimes attached to a sickle as a kusarigama.
His dad, Moga Singh, 52, and brother, Gurpreet Digwa, 27, of Southampton, face the same charges, while Gurpreet faces four additional charges. They are possessing an offensive weapon, asn asp, in a public place; possessing a prohibited weapon, an air rifle; possessing an axe in a public place; and possessing a knife, a kirpan, in a public place. All the offences are dated December 4, 2025 – the day after Henry was stabbed. The three are set to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.
In the statement, unnamed members of the family said: “The loss of a young life is a grief that no family should ever have to carry. We are deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the Nowak family has had to endure. We love Vickrum. We will continue to love him. That love does not stand in opposition to the sorrow we feel for the Nowak family. Both are real, and both will remain with us for the rest of our lives. We would give anything to turn back time so the path of both Henry and Vickrum never crossed that night. We cannot change what has happened, we just hope that no further pain is caused in its name.
Digwa has been sentenced to 21 years behind bars(Image: Hampshire Police/PA Wire)
“We apologise to the Sikh community for our son’s actions which have unfairly brought the community into disrepute. We ask that this tragedy is not used by anyone to inflame division or hostility towards any community. We now ask for privacy as we come to terms with what lies ahead.”
The attorney general’s office is also considering Digwa’s jail sentence after receiving “multiple requests” to review it under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office said: “We have received multiple requests for Vickrum Digwa’s setnence to be considered under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheem. The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision.”
Vickrum Digwa stabbed Mr Nowak eight times(Image: Hampshire Police/Solent News & Photo Agency)
Hampshire Police promised to act on recommendations made by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating the actions officers took after they were called to the scene. IOPC director Derrick Campbell said in a statement that the organisation is reviewing body-worn footage.
He said: “We acknowledge that this case has raised questions about the actions of the attending officers and we are aware that a few minutes of police body-worn footage has been issued by the force following the conclusion of criminal proceedings. As part of our ongoing investigation we are reviewing a large amount of police body-worn footage, which we need to consider in context with other evidence we have obtained, including reviewing material presented during the murder trial, as we establish the full circumstances. Now that criminal proceedings have concluded, we are planning to meet with Mr Nowak’s family and provide them with updates about our investigation.”
The IOPC said it would review body camera footage(Image: Hampshire Police/PA Wire)
The case has also reached the Government, with Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds describing the conduct of police officer in Mr Nowak’s case as “shocking”. He told the BBC’s Today programme on Tuesday morning: “The footage, the body-cam footage, is every parent’s nightmare.”
“It is harrowing, and it is absolutely shocking, and the conduct of the police, when you look at it at the scene, is shocking. I’m sure your thoughts, my thoughts, the thoughts of all your listeners this morning are with Henry’s family and Henry’s friends, not only being the victim of a heinous crime, but also the lies of the perpetrator, the lies at the scene, the false accusations of racism.”
He branded the incident a “heinous event”, but said the investigation would lie with the IOPC, and added that the Government would not examine a national exemption allowing Sikhs and other religions using them for ceremonial reasons to carry knives. He said: “There is an exception in terms of carrying bladed articles in public places for particular religious and ceremonial reasons. And whilst, of course, we’ve been tightening up the law, we’ve banned things like terrible zombie knives, we’ve tightened up the law in terms of online purchasing of knives.”
“It’s not about looking, I think, more broadly at that particular exception. Indeed, if you look at what the judge said in this case, the judge actually said that the minute that this perpetrator removed the blade from the sheath, you can forget any sense of there being some sort of exception to the law.
“And he also said the fact that this perpetrator was willing to use a bladed article was an abuse of the privilege that Sikhs and indeed other religions have. It was something that made this case worse because of that abuse of that privilege.”
Source/ Video: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/henry-nowak-vickrum-digwa-southampton-37234806
