The grandmother of convicted murderer Vikram Dhigoa has defended his mother’s actions, saying she “just did what any parent would have done” after helping to hide the weapon used to kill Henry Nowak.Speaking publicly for the first time since Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, Bimla Kaur, 75, said the case had devastated both families and left her relatives living in fear.“This whole affair has devastated two families – Henry’s and mine,” she told the Daily Mail.Degoa, 23, was found guilty of murdering Novak in Southampton on December 3 last year using a ceremonial Sikh kirpan blade.
His mother, Kiran Kaur, 52, was later convicted of aiding a murderer after hiding the knife at her son’s request. She is currently on remand and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.Kaur defended her daughter-in-law and said: “She just did what any mother would do.”She described Kiran as a devout Sikh and a devoted homemaker who was completely focused on raising her children in a traditional family environment.
“Now you will be punished for this,” she added.Kaur expressed her sympathy for the victim’s family and explained that she did not justify her grandson’s actions.“He did something very bad, and there’s no debate about that,” she said, describing Degoa as a “difficult boy.”According to Kaur, the repercussions of the case made her family fear for their safety. After Degoa’s conviction and the release of police body camera footage, violent protests broke out in Southampton.
Some demonstrators headed to the street where the Daqwa family lives.Kaur said her son Moga and grandson Gurpreet have since left their home and are staying with relatives at an undisclosed location.“It is not safe for them to be in their home because it was targeted that night and it is only a matter of time before it is attacked again,” she said.Although she remains at her home in central Southampton, Kaur said the family had also received threats.“We are all living in fear because we have also received some threats and we are worried that we might be attacked as well,” she said. “But we have been living in this city for a long time, our entire extended family is here, and we have nowhere else to go.”Kaur also spoke about her family’s connection to the Nihangs, a centuries-old Sikh warrior group known for carrying traditional weapons and defending the Sikh faith. She said several male members of her family, including Dijoa’s father and brother, belong to the group.“It’s an important part of our faith and that’s something I’m proud of,” she said.However, she insisted that her grandson’s actions conflicted with those values.She added: “These weapons are not intended to be used against innocent people, so something went wrong.”During the trial, Degoa was described as a “weapon freak” and was found to possess several illegal weapons as well as ceremonial carbines.Members of the Sikh community also distanced themselves from him. Jas Singh of the UK Sikh Federation said: “It is a fake Nihang. Yes, weapons are important to us, and we learn how to use them, but it is clearly stated that they can only be used to protect the faith, uphold justice and defend innocent people, not to kill them. The Nihangs are upright and noble people, but Dejoa was none of those things. He was an ordinary thug, no different from anyone else you would normally see on the streets of Britain.”
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