Vickrum Digwa had falsely claimed racial abuse, prompting police to handcuff his dying victim, Henry Nowak, who he had stabbed
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 1:41am, 2 Jun 2026A UK court on Monday jailed a British Sikh man for life for killing a university student in a case that sparked anger after police handcuffed the dying victim following a false claim of racial abuse.
A judge at Southampton Crown Court sentenced Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old local resident, to life in prison with an obligation to spend at least 21 years in jail for the killing of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak on December 3.
A jury on Friday found Digwa guilty of murdering the accountancy and finance student on the street last December.
The trial was seized on by prominent figures such as far-right activist Tommy Robinson and SpaceX founder Elon Musk who claimed it showed police bias.
Officers arrested and handcuffed Nowak at the scene after Digwa claimed he had been racially abused. The victim died from stab wounds soon after.
The judge said he was “sure that Henry had said nothing racist”.
