Police handcuffed stabbed student before his death in Southampton case

Police handcuffed Henry Nowak despite his five stab wounds, a decision that has turned a fatal Southhampton knife attack into a test of how officers assess victims, suspects and danger in the first moments of a violent call.

Nowak, 18, was attacked on Belmont Road in Southampton on 3 December 2025 after returning home from a night out with friends. He was a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton and had come from Chafford Hundred, Essex. Prosecutors said Vickrum Digwa, 23, stabbed him five times with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial knife with an eight-inch, 21cm blade.

When officers arrived, Digwa told them he had been the victim of a racist attack, and Hampshire Constabulary later said the officers handcuffed Nowak before understanding the full picture. Court details said Nowak suffered a stab wound to the chest and two wounds to the back of his legs, with one chest injury causing significant internal bleeding that was difficult to find. After he was handcuffed, he collapsed, became unconscious and died at the scene, after which officers began first aid.

Hampshire Constabulary has apologised for the handcuffing, saying the officers were lied to and were dealing with a complex and confusing situation. Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France said the force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct the following day. The IOPC, the independent body that investigates serious police complaints and allegations in England and Wales, is now examining the officers’ actions.

Digwa was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court on 28 May 2026 of murder and carrying a bladed weapon in public. His mother, Kiran Kaur, 53, was found guilty of assisting an offender by removing the weapon from the scene. Sentencing was listed for Digwa on Monday, June 1, and for Kaur on 17 July.

The case has also drawn wider reaction. Elon Musk said he was willing to fund a private prosecution against Hampshire police, while Sikh Federation UK and other Sikh organisations stressed that the trial was not about Sikhism or racism, but about an unlawful killing. The concern now is larger than one street in Southampton: when officers reach a chaotic stabbing scene, the first judgment they make can determine whether a wounded person is protected as a victim or processed as a suspect.