Calls for tougher action against those linked to convicted murderer Vikrum Dhigua intensified after MP Robert Lowe said “any Indian who covers up for Vikrum Dhigua should be deported immediately”, as controversy continues over the murder of Southampton student Henry Novak and the use of bladed weapons under religious exemptions.Lowe is the Member of Parliament for Great Yarmouth and leader of Restoration Britain. Hema made the comments aboutThe politician also called for kirpan to be banned in the UK, describing it as an “un-British religious practice”.
Degoa was convicted of stabbing Nowak to death on December 3, after the teen was returning home alone after a night out with friends.
Degua used a 21cm long blade which he claimed to carry as part of his Sikh faith.Judge William Mosley QC rejected Degoa’s claims that he acted in self-defence after being racially abused. While sentencing him, the judge said that Degoa had brought “shame” to his family and religion.Mosley told the accused: “You were sober but you were carrying a large Sikh dagger.”Nowak was a first-year student at the University of Southampton from Chafford Hundred, Essex.
He was stabbed five times, including wounds to his face and legs and a fatal injury to his chest. Prosecutors said Degoa had an “obsession with weapons.”Neighbors heard Nowak say he had been stabbed and was dying. He tried to escape by climbing over the fence, leaving a trail of blood behind him.The case attracted national attention after police body camera footage showed officers initially treating Nowak as a suspect. Despite repeatedly saying “I’ve been stabbed” and “I can’t breathe,” he was handcuffed and arrested for assault after Degoa falsely claimed he was attacked.Police later apologized, saying officers had been misled by information provided at the scene and that they faced a “very complex” situation.Henry’s father, Mark Nowak, described the events as “unbearable.”He said: “Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone could believe him.”Meanwhile, controversy continued over the weapon used in the attack. The Sikh Federation said the blade used by Degua was not a religious knife known as a kirpan, and accused authorities of failing to clarify that distinction. However, the Crown Prosecution Service said that Degoa had chosen to carry ceremonial knives and that the judge accepted its assessment that the weapon was a kirpan that Degoa had chosen to use.Degoa was also convicted of carrying a knife in public. His mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was convicted of assisting a criminal after trying to hide the murder weapon. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17.
