The mother of Vickrum Singh Digwa, the man convicted of murdering 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak in Southampton, England, has been sentenced to three years in prison for assisting an offender by removing and concealing the murder weapon.

Kiran Kaur, 53, an Indian-born non-English-speaking immigrant, was convicted of helping her son after the December 3, 2025, stabbing on Belmont Road in Portswood. Digwa, 23, used a large 21cm (8in) Sikh dagger (described in court as a “shastar” or ceremonial blade) to stab the unarmed Nowak five times. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years.

Following the attack, Digwa instructed his mother to take the knife from the scene. Kaur hid it in her son’s bedroom at the family home among a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons. Police later recovered the murder weapon and over 20 additional blades during a search.

Sentencing Kaur at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley KC criticized her actions: “A responsible parent would have challenged their son over their actions and encouraged them to do the right thing. Instead, you took the knife home… That would have helped to conceal what it had been used for because you wanted him to avoid being caught.”

The case has sparked widespread debate over knife crime, religious exemptions for ceremonial blades like the kirpan, police response (including bodycam footage showing Nowak handcuffed while dying), and community tensions. Digwa claimed self-defense and alleged racial abuse by Nowak, claims rejected by the court.

Henry Nowak, a first-year finance student described as principled and full of promise, was walking home from a night out when he encountered Digwa. His family continues to grieve, calling for stronger action on knife crime.

Sources: BBC News