Mother of British Sikh man who killed teenager in England jailed for removing murder weapon

LONDON: The mother of a British Sikh man serving a life sentence for fatally stabbing a teenager in south-east England has been jailed for removing the murder weapon used by her son from the scene of the crime.

Kiran Kaur, 53, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after she was convicted of assisting an offender at Southampton Crown Court on Friday.

The India-born woman was found guilty of taking possession of the weapon used by her son, Vickrum Digwa, to kill Henry Nowak in Southampton, and assisting in its removal from the scene to hinder the investigation.

"Henry Nowak was just 18 years old when he was murdered by Vickrum Digwa and our thoughts remain with Henry's family and loved ones, who have endured unimaginable loss," said Kelly Newman, senior prosecutor with the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.

“Digwa lied to police about Henry after carrying out the senseless act of violence and in the immediate aftermath, Kiran Kaur chose to help her son by removing the murder weapon in a deliberate attempt to obstruct the investigation and hide crucial evidence,” she said.

"Those who seek to help murderers evade justice should be in no doubt that they too will be held accountable for their actions," she said.

Digwa stabbed 18-year-old Nowak to death on December 3, 2025. Last month, 23-year-old Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

The case triggered an uproar as the accused attempted to use a religious self-defence argument, claiming the weapon involved was a kirpan – a ceremonial knife Sikhs have a legal dispensation to carry in the UK.

“It is a fundamental principle of Sikhism that any kirpan is worn as a symbol of religious faith and is never to be carried for an offensive purpose," said Justice William Mousley while sentencing his mother this week.

“It is obvious that for use to be reasonable, any perceived threat justifying its use would only be in circumstances of great seriousness and urgency. You would have been fully aware of that,” said the judge.

“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 and put it with a larger collection of ceremonial and other weapons in your sons’ bedroom," he stated.

The judge referenced Kaur as having had a “hard life” in India which improved when she was married and came to the UK nearly 30 years ago.

“Your actions were, mistakenly, to protect your son rather than for any personal gain and you are very unlikely to re-offend," he noted.

Kaur’s sentencing guidelines effectively mean she will be eligible for Home Detention Curfew by next year, served under licence, which would subject her to a recall to serve some more or all of her sentence if she commits another offence or breaks her parole conditions.

“Kaur conspired with her son as he sought to smear Henry as racist (as) he lay dying on the street. Frankly — as an Indian national — she should be deported to serve a very lengthy sentence in her country of origin," Robert Jenrick, member of Parliament for the far-right Reform UK, demanded in a social media post.

“But to let her off with house arrest, when it was denied to others, would be an outrage," he said.

Legal proceedings against Digwa’s older brother, Gurpreet, and father Moga Singh for aiding and abetting the crime remain ongoing.

Meanwhile, Digwa’s 21-year minimum term life sentence is also being reviewed by the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The verdict, delivered by Judge William Mousley at Southampton Crown Court last month, followed a highly charged trial. As the details of the crime were laid out in court, British Sikh groups and parliamentarians condemned misrepresentation of the kirpan and highlighted that “no religious protection or justification applied” in the case.

It caused community tensions in Southampton.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary officers remain under an Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation amid allegations of “two-tier” policing, in which one community is alleged to have been prioritised over another.

The inquiry centres on police body-worn camera footage of the victim’s final moments, which showed him being handcuffed by officers after Digwa alleged he had made racist remarks. Those allegations were later debunked in court.