Three days after Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Henry Nowak, a Sikh priest from Digwa’s former place of worship in Southampton was attacked while out shopping. The assault is the latest in a wave of reprisals that has seen attacks on Sikhs “up and down the country” every day since Digwa was jailed, according to Dabinderjit Singh, a senior executive at the Sikh Federation.
Digwa, 23, was given a minimum term of 21 years for stabbing the 18-year-old student with a ceremonial knife that prosecutors said he carried as part of his Sikh religion. Footage has emerged of Digwa brandishing what appears to be an airgun in his back garden on 18 October 2022, three years before the murder. A neighbour who filmed the footage, startled by “loud gunshots”, reported it to police but was told “they couldn’t do anything as there had been no reports from other residents”.
“A Sikh priest attacked after Vickrum Digwa jailed for murdering Henry Nowak, as protests and backlash spread.”
The sentencing triggered violent protests in Southampton. Fourteen people were charged with violent disorder after bricks, fence panels, industrial bins, chairs and traffic cones were thrown at police. The unrest followed the revelation that police had wrongfully arrested Nowak for racism. Days later, a peaceful vigil was held outside Portswood Police Station, where a crowd gathered for speeches, songs made in Henry’s honour and a three-minute silence. People knelt in the street, shouting “racist police, off our streets”. One woman told the crowd: “To watch that video was one of the most awful things to see… He was treated like a piece of meat.” She added: “This police force needs total upheaval. Keir Starmer, you’re a f*ing w*er.” A father asked the crowd to raise their hands if they “don’t trust our government right now”, prompting many to do so.
At a march commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Singh said the daily attacks on Sikhs “brings home” the violence faced during the 1984 massacre. “When that bodycam footage came out, there was real anger,” he said. “We understand that – we were just as angry.”