The family of Henry Nowak’s killer has been charged with a string of weapons offences allegedly committed in the hours immediately after the murder — as the Digwa family issued a public apology to the Nowak family and to the Sikh community for bringing it into “disrepute.”
Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed for life yesterday with a minimum term of 21 years for stabbing 18-year-old Henry Nowak six times with a religious blade in Southampton on 3 December 2025, was today charged with six counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place on 4 December — the day after the killing. His father Moga, 52, faces the same six charges on the same date. His brother Gurpreet, 27, faces six counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place, one count of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, one count of possessing a prohibited weapon and two counts of possessing a knife or bladed article in a public place — all on 4 December. The three men are due to appear together at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this afternoon at 1.30pm.
Vickrum’s mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, who was convicted of assisting an offender by removing the murder weapon from the scene and taking it back to the family home, awaits sentencing on 17 July.
The new charges emerged amid continuing public anger over bodycam footage showing Hampshire Police officers handcuffing the mortally wounded Henry Nowak on the street and ignoring his pleas for help — after Digwa falsely told officers that Nowak had racially abused him, punched him and torn off his turban. Officers dragged Nowak along the ground as he begged for assistance, telling them he had been stabbed and could not breathe. Despite struggling to speak and being in severe pain, he was ordered to place his hands in handcuffs. Nowak died shortly afterwards. Digwa, who did not know his victim, was found to have told what the prosecution described as a “wicked lie” designed to ensure the wrong man was arrested.
In a statement issued through Sikh PA, a charity that seeks to represent the Sikh community in the media, unnamed members of the Digwa family apologised both to the Nowak family and to the Sikh community. “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,” the statement read. “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.”
The family added: “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. 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.”
