The family of Henry Nowak’s killer have been ostracised by the Sikh community as the murder has blown up into a national row.

Vickrum Digwa repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist in a disturbing case that sparked national furore.

Henry, 18, was then handcuffed as he lay dying on the pavement despite telling arresting officers ‘I can’t breathe’.

Digwa, 23, who repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist – was jailed for life on Monday sparking mass protests in Southampton which were marred by violence.

The Mail revealed that members of Digwa’s family have gone into hiding in recent days because they fear reprisals.

Now we have learned that members of the wider Sikh community also fear they could be unfairly targeted such is the febrile atmosphere in the city.

And there is widespread anger among local Sikhs at the Digwa family for ‘bringing trouble to our doorstep’ through their failure to deal with ‘difficult boy’ Digwa and his growing interest in knives.

Digwa and his family are Nihang Sikhs – a martial sect that prides itself on being skilled in the use of swords, knives and other weapons while proclaiming themselves to be the ‘commandos’ of the faith.

Henry Nowak, 18, was handcuffed as he lay dying on the pavement despite telling arresting officers ‘I can’t breathe’

Vickrum Digwa repeatedly stabbed the innocent student before lying to police that he had been racist in a disturbing case that sparked national furore

Jas Singh, a Nihang who had known Digwa, said: ‘Digwa is a fake Nihang.’

He added: ‘Yes, weapons are important to us, and we learn to use them, but it is clearly stipulated that they can only be used to protect the faith, uphold justice and defend the innocent, not kill them.

‘The Nihangs are an upright and noble people, but Digwa was none of these things. He was a common thug and yob, no different to any other you commonly see on the streets of Britain.

‘There is more to being a Nihang than owning weapons and dressing in a particular way.’

Another regular at the Gurdwara added: ‘Digwa had a really bad temper on him, behaved badly and thought that he could get away with anything.

‘A lot of people in this area didn’t like him or some of his family and we’ll be glad to see the back of them because they have disgraced us all.’

Even Digwa’s own grandmother, Bimla Kaur, 75, has said he had corrupted the family’s heritage by killing Henry.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘Vickrum was devoted to that [Nihang] way of life, it meant everything to him. It’s an important part of our faith and it’s something that I’m proud of, that there are Nihangs in this family.

‘But these weapons are not meant to be used on the innocent, so something has gone wrong. This whole case has destroyed two families: Henry’s and mine. And what also makes me sad is that our whole community is now being targeted with all this talk of banning kirpans [Sikh knives].

Digwa’s brother Gurpreet (left) and their father Moga Singh (right) face charges of possession of offensive weapons

Digwa’s mother Kiran Kaur was found guilty of assisting an offender by removing a weapon from the scene of the murder of Henry Nowak

Knife-obsessed Digwa regularly participated in combat sessions with an array of arms as a member of the Nihangs, an ancient order of Sikhism that was formed around 500 years ago to protect the religion and its gurdwaras, (places of worship) at a time when they were under attack from Muslim rulers in India.

The Nihangs became known for their bravery and ruthlessness on the battlefield and expertise with weapons such as swords, knives, spears and iron chains, earning a fearsome reputation for being the ‘army of Sikhism’.

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