This is the moment a Sikh knifeman flaunted his deadly weapons two years before murdering a university student in the street, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Knife-obsessed Vikrum Digwa, 23, stabbed stranger Henry Nowak, 18, six times with a ceremonial Sikh blade he had been carrying in Southampton city centre last December.
He did not know his teenage victim, but told a ‘wicked lie’ about him to the first officers on the scene, claiming Mr Nowak shouted racist abuse, punched him and knocked off his turban.
The officers promptly handcuffed the fatally injured student, who collapsed in the street moments later, drowning in his own blood.
MPs reacted with fury following Digwa’s conviction for murder on Thursday, questioning how the killer was so easily able to dupe officers into arresting his dying victim – a blunder described as a ‘shocking example of two-tier policing’.
It can now be revealed that Digwa’s obsession with weapons was obvious for several years before the fatal attack, with a video obtained by the Mail from 2023 showing him putting on a demonstration with ceremonial knives at a Sikh event.
In the 30-second clip, Digwa can be seen performing a ‘Gatka’ with his older brother Gurpreet.
A Gatka is a Sikh weapons demonstration and both Digwa and his brother were described as ‘teachers’ of Gatka.
Sources in the local Sikh community said Digwa and his brother were briefly Gatka teachers, but they had abruptly cut ties with him over concerns they had about his behaviour.
Killer Vikrum Digwa’s obsession with weapons was obvious for several years before the fatal attack, with a video obtained by the Mail showing him putting on a demonstration with ceremonial knives at a Sikh event (Digwa pictured in white)
In the 30 second clip, Digwa can be seen performing a ‘Gatka’ with his older brother Gurpreet (pictured in blue)
Sources in the local Sikh community said Digwa and his brother were briefly Gatka teachers, but they had abruptly cut ties with him over concerns they had about his behaviour
Vickrum Digwa, 23, has been found guilty of murdering student Henry Nowak, 18, with an eight-inch ceremonial blade
Mr Nowak was a finance student at the University of Southampton and was described as ‘kind and talented’ by his family
The video, filmed in May 2023, shows them sparring with knives and small shields in front of a crowd of onlookers at an event in London.
Digwa can be seen picking up a knife and a shield from an array of weapons on the floor and using circular motions to jab the knife into his brother’s shield.
The two can be seen dressed in traditional Sikh clothing and turbans, jumping from side to side as they continue to hit each other’s shields.
The footage will raise questions about whether enough was done to stop Digwa before his obsession with knives turned deadly.
Digwa faces being jailed for life next week, after he was found guilty of murdering Mr Nowak by ‘aggressively pursuing’ him and stabbing him six times – including a chest wound 8cm deep.
The court heard that the Nihang Sikh slept in a bedroom with an ‘arsenal of weapons’ that he and his brother shared.
Digwa had a fascination with antique Sikh weaponry and he even described the murder weapon in ‘loving terms’ when he was questioned about it.
The latest revelations come after Hampshire Police was forced to apologise to Mr Nowak’s family for arresting the fatally injured teenager.
Deputy Chief Constable Robert France told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m sorry that he was handcuffed and arrested.’
There are calls for the force to release bodycam footage of the arrest, while the Independent Office for Police Conduct is looking into how the officers acted.
Digwa used racism as his ‘trump card’, accusing Mr Nowak of racial abuse when police officers arrived so they would arrest the wrong man
MPs have blasted police for the catastrophic blunder.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘It is the most shocking example of two-tier policing I have ever seen. Our policing system is broken. A Reform government will fix it.’
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘The police seemed more interested in cuffing someone accused of making a racist comment than in saving a dying man. They believed his attacker’s allegations of racism without critical assessment.’
The case has caused international outrage, with tech billionaire Elon Musk offering to fund a private prosecution against the police. It also raises questions about whether anti-racism training may be having a catastrophic impact on officers’ judgment.
The trial heard Mr Nowak was in his first term at the University of Southampton when he went for a night out in the city on December 3. The teenager headed home at around 11pm.
Jurors were told he was speaking to friends on Snapchat when he came across Digwa, who was ‘carrying an extremely large knife in a sheath openly displayed over his clothing’.
A video of the two men talking was found on Mr Nowak’s phone, which was discovered in his killer’s pocket.
In the clip, Mr Nowak can be heard saying: ‘You’re a bad man, say you’re a bad man, go on.’
Digwa replied: ‘I am a bad man.’ The footage then cut off.
After the fatal blows were dealt, Digwa ‘aggressively pursued’ and filmed his victim as he tried to escape. His brother, Gurpreet, then arrived and called 999, claiming his sibling had been ‘attacked racially’.
Officers arrived soon after, at which point Digwa used his ‘trump card’ – accusing Mr Nowak of racism.
This was a ‘wicked lie about a dying man’, prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC said.
