A Southampton Sikh man has been jailed for the murder of an 18-year-old student after he was reported to police for allegedly stealing a ritual religious blade, the Daily Mail reported.Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak with an 8-inch copan gun in Southampton city center in December 2025.Members of Southampton’s Sikh community reportedly contacted police in July 2023 to report that a Shastar ceremonial blade worth around £1,000 had been stolen.The blades were allegedly taken from the Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar in Southampton, where Digwar and his brother had been teaching Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial art that involves weapons demonstrations.A source at the institute said that Digwa was fired as Gatka coach in August 2023 and was later reported to the police on suspicion of theft.A source told MailOnline: “We sacked his Gatka teacher in August 2023 and I reported him to the police for stealing around £1,000 worth of Shastar, which was bought with community money.”No charges have been filed in connection with the alleged incident.Digwa’s mother Kiran Kaur, 53, was also convicted of assisting an offender and prosecutors said she removed the murder weapon from the scene after the stabbing.Sentencing Digwa to life in prison, Judge William Mousley KC told the defendant he had “brought disgrace to your family and your religion”.The judge also said he was satisfied Henry Novak “did not say anything racist” during the encounter, rejecting key parts of Digueva’s account of the events leading up to the fatal stabbing.
