Grandmother of Henry Nowak's killer speaks out about 'difficult boy' and how tragedy has left his mother 'heartbroken'
Vickrum Digwa, 23, stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton in December last year with a 21cm blade
The grandmother of Henry Nowak's killer has said the tragedy "destroyed two families" and they are living in constant fear of reprisals.
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Vickrum Digwa, 23, stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton in December last year with a 21cm blade, which had been in a sheath attached to a belt over the outside of the killer’s clothing.
Digwa, told police attending the scene of the stabbing in Southampton on December 3, 2025 that he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Henry was handcuffed by police despite telling them he had been stabbed and that he couldn't breathe.
His grandmother, Bimla Kaur, has said that she is "very sorry for what's happened" and the family's hearts are broken.
The 75-year-old told the Daily Mail: "This whole case has destroyed two families: Henry's and mine.
"We are in a hard situation because we still have to support him but at the same time our hearts are broken and I'm very sorry for what's happened."
Violence broke out in Southampton on Tuesday evening as people took to the streets to protest "two-tier policing" following the conclusion of the court case, which led to the injury of 11 police officers and a police dog.
Following the unrest, Matt Styler, 50, has been charged with assaulting a police officer (assault of an emergency worker), and Daniel Frost, 44, has been charged with violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Ms Kaur said that Digwa's father Moga Singh, 52, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, don't feel safe anymore and are no longer in their home after it was targeted during the riot on Tuesday, adding it's "only a matter of time before it is attacked again".
She said: "Both Moga and Gurpreet are with relatives in a safe place and to be honest, I'm not sure if they'll ever return to that house again.
"We're all living in fear because we've also had some threats and are worried that we might also get attacked.
"But we've been in this city a long time, our whole extended family is here, and we don't have anywhere else to go."
Following the murder, Reform and Restore have called for the Kirpan – a small ceremonial knife carried by some practising Sikhs for religious purposes – to be banned.
While Digwa was wearing the kirpan, which is usually worn under clothing, he had a second blade, described by the trial judge as “a large Sikh dagger”, which was used as the murder weapon.
Digwa also appeared in court this week, where he faced 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.
His father, Moga Singh, 52, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, 27, who are on bail, appeared alongside him to face the same charges while Gurpreet faced four additional charges.
They are possessing an offensive weapon, an 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.
Ms Kaur said: "These weapons are not meant to be used on the innocent, so something has gone wrong. He's done a very bad thing - there's no argument over that."
In July 2024, the Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar in Southampton reported Digwa to Hampshire Constabulary over missing blunted shastar blades worth £1,000 in July 2023.
Digwa and his brother were teachers of Gatka, a type of Sikh weapons demonstration, at the time, according to the Daily Mail.
Digwa was a Nihang, an order of Sikh warriors that protects the religion and its Gurdwaras. His grandmother says this way of life "meant everything to him".
Ms Kaur said: "Most of the men in this family are Nihangs and so is Vickrum.
"It's an important part of our faith and it's something that I'm proud of, that there are Nihangs in this family. They were formed to protect Sikhism, that's why weapons are so important to them.
"But these weapons are not meant to be used on the innocent.
"What also makes me sad is that our whole community is now being targeted with all this talk of banning kirpans.
"Despite being a Nihang, Vickrum has also been a difficult boy but that's not unusual for children who are born in Britain."
His mother, Kiran Kaur, awaits sentencing for assisting an offender by taking the knife used to kill the 18-year-old in Southampton back to the nearby family home.
The 53-year-old will be sentenced on July 17 once a pre-sentence report has been prepared on her.
Ms Kaur said that she has been to see Digwa's mother in prison and "she's doing the best she can".
She added: "She only did what any mother would have done, which is to protect her child. And now she's going to be punished for this.
"Kiran has done a good job raising those two boys and was very supportive of them becoming Nihangs. It wasn't an issue for her because that's what she wanted and like me, was very proud of that. It's a huge honour for our family."