Brother of Southampton killer Vickrum Digwa repeated racist attack lie to 999 operator
Gurpeet Digwa told a 999 operator they had been "attacked racially" after his brother stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak fatally in Southampton. Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years.
Brother repeated false racial attack claim as Henry Nowak lay dying in Southampton
The brother of convicted murderer Vickrum Digwa told a 999 operator that he and his sibling had been the victims of a racist attack — a lie that left 18-year-old Henry Nowak dying alone, handcuffed and humiliated, according to reporting by Daily Express.
Vickrum Digwa was handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 21 years, for the murder of Nowak in Southampton in December 2025. The victim, a university student, died from a fatal 8cm chest wound inflicted by Digwa's ceremonial knife, which had a 21cm blade.
In the moments before the attack, Digwa was filmed by his own victim saying "I am a bad man." He then stabbed Nowak twice in the back of the legs before delivering the fatal wound to the chest.
The 999 call
Digwa's brother Gurpeet, 27, arrived at the scene shortly after the attack and called the emergency services. In the recording, he allegedly told the operator: "Yeah, we've just been attacked racially. Yeah, this f***er. Yeah, we just got attacked racially by some white person."
Gurpeet also claimed they were "restraining" Nowak because he "took my brother's turban off" and asked police to "have someone out there ASAP." When asked whether his brother had suffered any injuries, he said his brother had had his "hair pulled and stuff."
He allegedly added: "Literally I just parked my car to come home and he attacked my brother. He physically attacked my brother, we're Sikhs, we wear a turban and he's attacked my brother."
The lie originated with Vickrum Digwa himself, who had told police he had been called a racial slur and had his turban knocked off by Nowak — claims the court found to be entirely false.
Court findings
Prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg KC told the court that Nowak dying "alone, humiliated and handcuffed was a direct consequence of Vickrum Digwa's dishonesty."
Sentencing Digwa, Judge William Mousley KC stated: "You, Vickrum Digwa, murdered him, by doing so you robbed him of all those he loved, all the things he cared about and liked to do."
The judge also addressed Digwa's conduct following the stabbing. "You then filmed Henry desperately trying to get away from you, somehow scaling a fence, onto a communal bin, before landing on a car in front of the property next door," Mousley KC said. "You then showed a callous disregard for his wellbeing, knowing you had stabbed him to the chest. You continued to make films of Henry suffering, ignoring much of his desperation at having been stabbed."
On the false claim of racism, the judge was unequivocal: "You lied to him that you had been attacked, picking up on his question about whether it had been accompanied by racism by falsely claiming that Henry had called you a 'P**i'. I am sure that Henry had said nothing racist. You are the only person to make that claim and it is completely at odds with his previous character."
Regarding Gurpeet, Judge Mousley said he "may just have been accepting that which you had told him, rather than lying himself."
Digwa was also convicted separately of carrying his ceremonial knife in a public place.
Source: Daily Express