An 18-year-old university student died after being repeatedly stabbed by a man armed with a Sikh ceremonial sword. Economics student Henry Nowak was on his way home from a night out when, according to the indictment, he was attacked by the unknown Vikrum Digwa, 23, with an eight-inch long “Shastar” blade. The case is now going viral on social media.

Shortly before the fatal attack, Digwa was caught on film saying: “I am a bad person.”

Digwa is now charged with murder. His mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, is also on trial, suspected of assisting an offender. The prosecutor claims she went to the scene after the stabbing, ran home with the knife, and hid it among what is described as a “weapons arsenal” in the house.

Both deny any crime.

Police Arrested the Victim

Henry Nowak was in his first term of an accounting and finance program at the University of Southampton. On December 3, he had been out in the city with friends from his football team.

Around 11 p.m., he left the group to go home. According to court records, he had “drunk less than the legal driving limit.” During his walk, he was talking to friends on Snapchat when he encountered Digwa.

According to the prosecutor, Nowak was then stabbed. He tried to get away by climbing onto a garbage bin and over a fence, but had already sustained fatal injuries. Blood traces at the scene, according to the prosecutor, show he was stabbed before attempting to flee.

Digwa is said to have followed him aggressively.

Police were called to the scene but initially arrested Nowak, after Digwa claimed he had been subjected to racist insults. Nowak was handcuffed, but collapsed soon afterward. At that point, police began to provide first aid.

Drowned in His Own Blood

Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC described the events in court:

– Simply put, Henry drowned in his own blood after his lung was sliced open by the knife, which penetrated eight centimeters into him. Vickrum Digwa claims self-defense. He insists that Henry launched a drunken racist attack. He says he does not remember exactly how the fatal injury occurred.

Nowak had four stab wounds, including two on the back of his legs and one in his lung. A doctor was flown in by helicopter, but nothing could be done to save him. He was pronounced dead on the street at 12:37 a.m.

Henry Nowak’s phone had recorded the moment he met Digwa. The video was later found on Nowak’s phone, which was discovered in Digwa’s pocket.

– Vikrum Digwa was carrying an extremely large knife in a sheath that was visibly displayed over his clothes, said the prosecutor.

In the video, Nowak is heard saying “hey car” and singing to himself before yawning. The video then cuts to Digwa, who is seen walking away from him.

Nowak is then heard saying:

“Right, bad person, what do you mean bad person. You are a bad person, say you are a bad person, come on.”

Digwa replied:

“I am a bad person.”

Nowak then responded:

“Are you a b…”

The video then cuts out.

The prosecutor said:

– By half past midnight that night, Henry Nowak was dead. He had been stabbed to death by Vikrum Digwa with that knife—the knife that Vikrum Digwa himself had chosen to carry out onto the street.

– No one but Henry Nowak and Vikrum Digwa witnessed the actual killing. The neighbors heard the aftermath, when Henry Nowak said he had been stabbed and was dying. Tragically, he was right on both counts.

Denied the Stabbing

After the attack, Digwa’s father and brother reportedly came to the scene together with his mother. According to the prosecutor, the mother was caught on video taking the knife back to the family’s residence.

On the scene, Digwa denied stabbing Nowak. Instead, he claimed to have been “racially insulted and attacked by a drunken man.”

– He did not seek help for the man he had injured with his large knife. Instead, he accused him of being a racist and drunk, said the prosecutor.

– Vikrum said that Nowak had not been stabbed. That was a lie. This was a man whom Vikrum Digwa stabbed more than once, said prosecutor Lobbenberg.

An analysis of the knife showed that blood and fatty tissue matched Nowak. DNA from Kaur was found on the knife sheath, while hair from Digwa was found on the knife itself.

Carried Two Knives

In the UK, Sikhs have the right to carry a kirpan knife publicly, as it is covered by religious exemptions.

Digwa wore a small kirpan around his neck, which the prosecutor says fulfilled his religious obligation. But he was also carrying a much larger “Shastar” blade—around eight inches, equivalent to 21 centimeters.

After being arrested, Digwa and his brother were transported in a police car. Their conversation was recorded.

– The two chose to talk to each other because they assumed they couldn’t be heard. He told his brother that he stabbed Henry three times. He mentioned nothing about racism or self-defense, said the prosecutor.

Mother Suspected of Hiding the Weapon

The indictment against Kiran Kaur is based on suspicions that she helped her son after the attack.

– Kaur is the accused’s mother. She came to the scene when her husband and sons were there. Her son asked her to take his Shastar, that is, the large knife. This was caught on a mobile video recording, so it could be heard. The knife was hidden among a weapons arsenal in the home.

Digwa’s defense says he acted in the “heat of the moment” and in self-defense.

– Who started this incident? Was it Henry Nowak who said things to Digwa, or was it Digwa who said things to him? the defense asked.

The trial is not concluded at the time of writing.

Viral on Social Media

The case has spread rapidly on social media with millions of views in multiple places. Many are furious at the police for arresting Nowak initially. One commentator claims police should be prosecuted for manslaughter. “Ryan” reminds us of an incident in Germany when police arrested the victim while being stabbed by the perpetrator themselves.

“We live in hell with these third-world savages,” writes Nigel Nelson, resignedly.

“Another foreigner slaughters our people, and the police act like outright traitors! Damn those cops who arrested Henry.” writes “Harry”