Sikh killer who murdered Henry Nowak appears in court alongside father and brother over further weapons offences
Vickrum Digwa, his father and his brother have been charged with six counts of possession of offensive weapons in a private place.
Warning: Contains distressing footage and images
A man who murdered Henry Nowak returned to court alongside his father and brother on Tuesday charged with a string of further weapons offences.
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Vickrum Digwa, 23, was handed a sentence of life imprisonment for murder on Monday, and is today due back in court on additional charges of weapons possession, with his brother and father.
Vickrum, his 52-year-old father Moga Singh, and his brother 27-year-old Gurpreet Digwa, have been charged with six counts of possession of offensive weapons in a private place.
The alleged weapons include a flick knife, an extendable baton, knuckledusters, a machete, swords and kusaris, which is a kind of weighted chain.
Gurpreet Digwa also faces four additional charges, including 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.
These offences date back to 4 December 2025 - the day after Henry Nowak was killed.
All three men appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon, with the judge adjourning matters for four weeks until 9th July “in the interests of justice”.
The judge says the adjournment allows time for further consideration of the charges, with the force required to decide which are set to go ahead by June 16.
Gurpreet Digwa and Moga Singh were granted unconditional bail with Vickrum Digwa remaining in custody following Monday's sentencing.
Vickrum Digwa's family previously apologised to the victim's loved ones after the 18-year-old was stabbed to death and handcuffed in the street.
In a statement, his family said they were "deeply sorry for the pain and suffering" caused to the Nowak family, and apologised for "bringing the Sikh community into disrepute".
It comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Commons “we cannot allow this murder to turn communities against one another”
Henry Nowak was handcuffed and arrested after being stabbed four times by 23-year-old Digwa who later falsely claimed he had been racially abused by the teenager.
Mr Nowak was detained by officers in the minutes before his death after Vickrum Digwa lied and claimed he had called him a “p****” and knocked his turban off during an altercation in December.
Henry, who had been stabbed four times with an 8in ceremonial knife, was arrested despite pleading with police that he could not breathe.
In a statement released today, Digwa's 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."
The statement comes as the murderer’s 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.
The family went on to apologise "to the Sikh community for our son’s actions which have unfairly brought the community into disrepute."
They added: “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.”
It comes as Nigel Farage claimed the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak and the police response were examples of "two-tier policing", comparing the teenager's death to that of George Floyd in the United States.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, the Reform UK leader said officers had treated “an accusation of a racial slur more seriously than an act of murder”.
Speaking to Nick Ferrari this morning on LBC, Mr Farage said the case had prompted little national reaction, contrasting it with the response after the death of George Floyd in the United States, when Sir Keir Starmer was photographed taking the knee "just days later".
He argued the case showed “the rights and privileges of white people matter less than ethnic minorities”, and linked the incident to wider concerns over immigration, integration and diversity policies.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary have since apologised on behalf of the officers but reiterated that they were deceived, and that they would have been unaware of Mr Nowak's injury.
But chilling bodycam footage of the arrest was released on Monday which shows Henry, a finance student who was on the way home from a night out, calling out "I've been stabbed" multiple times on Belmont Road, Southampton.
An officer replies: "You've been stabbed? Whereabouts? I don't think you have mate."
A female officer can then be heard calling for an ambulance as another says "his pupils aren’t even reacting" to her torch.
The footage begins with officers approaching the address to which an unknown voice says: "He (Henry Nowak) keeps dropping side to side so I am just trying to keep him sat up. He's got a mouthful of blood so.."
Digwa then is heard saying: "He's jumped over these fences and stuff like that."
One of the officers replies: "Has anyone been hurt other than him?" Digwa replied saying "he's grabbed my brother, he's took my turban off, started grab my hair like that".
The killer then claims to have a "swollen eye and a little bruising" before being told to step back by the officer.
Henry then says: "I've been stabbed."
The officer responds: "You've been stabbed? Whereabouts? I don't think you have mate."
An unknown voice later says "he hasn't been stabbed" to which the female officer replies: "But we have to check".
Henry, lying still on his side, is asked what his name is before being told he is under arrest for assault and has his rights read to him.
The officers then request for an ambulance.
Henry had in fact been stabbed four times with an 8in ceremonial knife as it emerged Digwa lied and claimed he had called him a "p****" and knocked his turban off.
Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder and carrying a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade in a public place.
On Monday, he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years before being considered for release.
After the sentencing, Henry’s dad, Mark, called for a "full, fearless and transparent" investigation into the police handling of his son’s murder, adding: "Our family should not have to fight for the truth".
Speaking outside the court, Mr Nowak said: "Henry's life was taken from him unlawfully, violently and without justification.”
"Henry was 18-years-old. He was kind, ambitious, loved and full of promise. He had his whole life ahead of him, a degree to finish, places to see and a future to build.
"That future was stolen from him, and no verdict or sentence will ever give it back.
"Henry did nothing wrong. He was one of the kindest, friendliest and most inclusive people you could ever hope to meet. He was amazing in every way."
After the conviction on Friday, temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France apologised on behalf of the officers but reiterated that they were deceived, and that they would have been unaware of Mr Nowak’s injury.
Mr France said: "This is an absolutely tragic case and my sympathies are absolutely with Henry’s family, his friends and his loved ones.
"I want to apologise, I want to say that I am sorry that Henry couldn’t be saved at that night. I’m sorry that he was handcuffed and arrested in the moments before he lost consciousness.
"It's quite clear that officers didn’t understand what had happened immediately and that is some of the context I would ask people to understand.
"There had been a delay from those who chose eventually to call them. There were lies, lies from Henry’s killer in that 999 phone call, further lies from his killer as officers arrived on scene.
"Despite Henry telling officers he had been stabbed, it took them some minutes to realise what had really happened.
"But within three minutes of that engagement with Henry, they were giving him first aid. They had taken the handcuffs off and they were giving them first aid."
Mr France added: "We referred ourselves immediately to the Independent Office of Police Conduct the following day and they’ve been independently investigating ever since."
"We are absolutely committed to acting on their findings. It’s clear to me the circumstances were complex. For example, Henry’s significant wound, the wound that was fatal, was deep and internal.
"The pathologist was clear in court, that it would have been hard to find. The bleeding was inside Henry’s body.
"Sadly, there was nothing the officers could have done that night to save him. We should always listen to someone who is telling us they are injured.
"Of course, we will look at this and see what we can incorporate into our training, particularly first aid training, in order to improve, and we want to improve every day, the response of our officers.
"That is an absolute tragedy and, of course, if there’s anything we can learn from it, we will."
Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was also found guilty of assisting an offender by removing the weapon from the scene.
The Prime Minister also waded in on Monday, stating it was appropriate for the force to be investigated by the IOPC.
He wrote on X: "This an awful, shocking case. Henry’s loved ones have gone through the trauma of a long trial and endured Henry's killer making up appalling claims about their son who was thoughtful, kind and deeply loved.
"It is right that the IOPC is investigating the police’s response to his senseless murder. And we must end the cycle of tragedy by tackling the horror of knife crime.
"Henry’s family, friends, his university and the city of Southampton will continue to feel his loss, and our thoughts will always be with them."
Nigel Farage, who earlier called on the release of the footage, posted on X: "This is the most shocking footage of discrimination that you will ever see.
"A white boy being handcuffed by police officers more concerned by an accusation of racism than an act of murder. This must be a turning point. White lives matter too."