‘Wicked lie’: Sikh man’s racism claims challenged in Southampton kirpan murder trial

A jury is now deciding the case of a Sikh man accused of murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak after a late-night confrontation in Southampton last year.Vickrum Digwa denies charges of murder, manslaughter and carrying a knife in public. His mother, Kiran Kaur, has denied assisting an offender.Jurors at Southampton Crown Court retired at 12.49pm on Tuesday to consider their verdicts after hearing weeks of evidence. The panel of eight women and four men will now assess the testimony and footage presented during the trial.Nowak, a student from Essex, was killed on December 3 last year while walking home after a night out in Southampton city centre.During his closing remarks, Judge William Mousley KC reviewed the evidence heard throughout the trial, including claims from Digwa that Nowak had been drunk and was “stumbling and weaving”. However, the judge reminded jurors that a pathologist had testified Nowak was below the legal drink-driving limit.An argument broke out after Nowak allegedly barged into Digwa and said: “You could have moved up a little bit more.”Jurors were also shown a Snapchat video recorded by Nowak shortly before the stabbing. In the clip, Nowak says to Digwa: “Say you are a badman, go on”.Digwa replies: “I am a badman” before approaching Nowak and grabbing his phone.Digwa later told the court that Nowak had “punched” his turban off and was “ragging” him about by his hair. Throughout the trial, Digwa maintained he acted in self-defence and claimed he had been racially attacked. Nowak was stabbed five times, including once in the chest, using what they described as a “21cm Sikh Blade”, also known as a kirpan. A kirpan is a ceremonial knife carried by initiated Sikhs as an article of faith.The judge also referred to witness testimony describing two voices during the incident. One witness reportedly heard someone shout, “you’re not going to get away with this big man”, followed by another voice sounding frightened and saying, “I’ve been stabbed”.Last week, the judge instructed jurors to also consider an alternative charge of manslaughter, which Digwa has denied.The court further heard transcripts from the moments after the stabbing, where Nowak said, “I am dying”, to which Digwa replied: “You are not dying, bro”.Nowak was handcuffed by police shortly before he lost consciousness. A verdict is expected once deliberations conclude.