Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student, was stabbed to death by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa – harrowing footage shows him being handcuffed as he lay dying
An officer involved in the Henry Nowak case has resigned.
The 18-year-old student was stabbed to death by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on December 3 2025. Harrowing footage shows him being handcuffed as he lay dying.
Digwa lies to police and claimed he had been the victim of a racist attack. He was convicted of murder this week.
A spokesperson for Hampshire Police today confirmed one of the officers involved in the case had resigned. They said: “Three of the officers are still serving, one officer has resigned. As the IOPC has confirmed, they are all being treated as witnesses, so not subject to any current restrictions.”
In body-worn camera footage from the incident, Mr Nowak can be heard repeatedly saying: “I’ve been stabbed,” to which an officer replies: “Don’t think you have, mate.”
Sir Keir Starmer said he “felt sick” watching footage of police handcuffing Mr Nowak, and that there are “serious questions” to answer about the case. The Prime Minister said there needs to be an examination into how “accusations of racism” informed the police’s decision-making in the case.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is expected to report on the case within the next three months. It said investigators are examining a large amount of body-worn video as well as material presented during Digwa’s trial.
Sir Keir said: “It is absolutely right that the IOPC are looking at this… There are clearly serious questions that need to be addressed, not least how accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.”
Digwa was given a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years in prison for stabbing Mr Nowak with a ceremonial knife with a 21cm blade. It was described in court as a “Sikh dagger”.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the Commons this afternoon that “we cannot allow this murder to turn communities against one another”, adding: “We condemn those who committed this heinous crime, not all those who share their faith or their ethnicity.”
Mr Nowak’s father Mark Nowak, speaking after Digwa was sentenced on Monday, said: “We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.”
