This article contains graphic descriptions of violence
(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The death of an 18-year-old British student at the hands of a Sikh man — and his subsequent treatment by police — has sparked widespread protests and outrage across social media, particularly among critics who say the case exemplifies Britain’s two-tier system.
At the center of the outrage is the murder of Henry Nowak, a university student and beloved football player who was viciously stabbed by Vickrum Digwa during an altercation on Dec. 3, 2025.
When police arrived, Nowak was handcuffed and dragged across the pavement while pleading for help and telling officers he could not breathe.
Digwa, meanwhile, falsely claimed that Nowak had used racial slurs and assaulted him. No evidence was ever produced to support those allegations.
According to the BBC, Digwa was carrying a kirpan, a sword exempt from Britain’s strict knife laws under a religious exemption for Sikhs. He used the same blade to stab Nowak. His father and brother are also facing separate weapons charges.
Subsequent investigations led to murder charges against Digwa, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on May 28.
Nowak’s night began when he entered an elevator to leave his dorm. Security footage showed him dressed in a blazer, tie and white button-down shirt while carrying what appeared to be a bottle of wine.
Other security footage showed Nowak entering a liquor store and later a pub before making his way home. Court proceedings later revealed that he was not intoxicated.
Nowak encountered Digwa, who was carrying two knives, including a kirpan, while heading home.
According to police, Nowak recorded Digwa after the two encountered one another on a dark street.
“Are you a bad man?” Nowak asked.
“I am a bad man,” Digwa replied.
Digwa appeared to take Nowak’s phone before stabbing him as he attempted to get it back. Digwa stabbed Nowak five times, including a fatal wound to the chest.
When police arrived, they moved to arrest Nowak on Digwa’s claims that he had hurled racist remarks.
Officers handcuffed Nowak even as he repeatedly told them he had been stabbed and begged for help.
Nowak died in handcuffs while officers read him his rights. At no point during the exchange was Digwa arrested.
In his final moments, Henry Nowak told police officers nine times “I can’t breathe” and four times that he had been stabbed.
In response police officer dragged him across the gravel, handcuffed and read him his rights.
It was the last thing Henry heard before he died. pic.twitter.com/nIPoPEgOWa
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 1, 2026
According to The Telegraph, Digwa’s father, Moga Singh, and brother, Gurpreet Digwa, were later found with an air gun, a flick knife, knuckledusters, a machete, swords, kusaris and a baton, a day after Nowak died.
His mother, Kiran Kaur, was also convicted of assisting an offender after helping conceal the knife used in the killing.
Hundreds of upset Britons have since taken to the streets to protest Nowak’s treatment by police, with several elected officials questioning why Digwa was not arrested on the night of the killing.
Other critics have pointed to the generous exemption for the traditional Sikh ceremonial blade, while protesters have targeted the officers behind Nowak’s arrest.
