Sikhs in Southampton say they are living in fear and avoiding going out after a Sikh man named Vickrum Singh Digwa was jailed for the murder of student Henry Nowak. Sikh community leaders are warning of rising racial abuse and intimidation in the city.Community representatives told The Times that many Sikhs are now reluctant to leave their homes, with some afraid to walk to gurdwaras or allow elderly relatives out alone. Incidents of abuse have increased at workplaces and in public spaces, while a planned memorial event for a Sikh community figure was cancelled due to safety concerns.A spokesman for Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar in Southampton said the situation has left people feeling targeted. “We are feeling victimised and people are scared to come out of their house. The gurdwara is empty as people won’t walk here.”The spokesman opened up on several incidents of racial abuse, including at a workplace and in a supermarket. “Two people were called p*** at Southampton cruise terminal, where they work, and another person was in Tesco shopping and someone told them: ‘You don’t need to be here.’ A person working in a care home had someone refuse to be cared for by them because they wear a turban.”She added that tensions had been fuelled by public discussion around the murder case. “This far-right movement has actually filled everybody with hatred to the Sikhs, at no fault of our own. We have never been highlighted for wrong reasons, always lived in Southampton and been friends, and with just one isolated incident the Sikhs are bad. Especially the males, who have a turban and a beard and a kirpan, they feel scared to go out.”She also said there had been no previous problems linked to the kirpan: “But the politicians and social media and the news, it’s all been Sikh, Sikh, Sikh and it’s just gone against the Sikhs. It’s the way the social media and the politicians have used their words and they have fuelled negativity into everyone around the Sikhs.”The fears come after 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak, who was stabbed with a 21cm Sikh ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan while walking home from a night out. Digwa later claimed the victim had racially attacked him. This claim was rejected in court.Following the killing, rioting broke out in Southampton on Tuesday after an anti-police protest involving far-right figures, leaving 11 officers and a police dog injured and leading to multiple arrests.Police bodyworn footage released this week showed injured Nowak being handcuffed and questioned despite repeatedly saying he had been stabbed and pleading for medical help saying he could not breathe. One officer was heard saying: “I don’t think you have, mate.” He later died from blood loss on the street.The killing and its aftermath have left the Sikh community shaken. A member of Gurdwara Nanaksar said the community was in shock and urged unity. “It was not the kirpan that did it; it was the person who did it. I am very sad to see people protesting why the Sikhs are allowed to carry kirpan. It is not a kirpan issue; it is a human issue. Kirpan is a spiritual object. The murderer needs to be punished regardless of any community. We all need to stand together against crime.”A neighbour of Digwa’s family said: “For me personally, I can’t comprehend it. How could you think using a weapon when there is an altercation is a good idea?”One of the officers involved in the case resigned last year, while three others remain in service.
