A video clip documenting the last moments of a British student who was stabbed to death in the city of Southampton sparked a widespread wave of anger in Britain, after it showed police officers handcuffing the victim while he was dying, after he was stabbed by a man who falsely accused him of launching racist abuse.
In the recording, which was captured by a camera mounted on the body of a police officer, student Henry Novak can be heard repeating several times: “I can’t breathe,” after he was fatally injured during the incident that occurred last December.
The publication of the video coincided with the issuance of a court ruling to imprison the killer, Vikrum Digoa (23 years old), for a period of no less than 21 years, after he was convicted of stabbing Novak to death.
According to the data presented before the court, Degua informed the police upon their arrival at the scene that Novak had directed racist abuse at him, claiming that he was the victim, which led the officers to believe his story.
The video recording showed that the police handcuffed Novak instead of providing him assistance, despite his confirmation that he had been stabbed and was unable to breathe. One of the officers was also heard telling him: “You were stabbed? Where were you injured? I don’t think you were stabbed, man,” before the student lost consciousness moments later.
After the ruling was issued, Novak’s father described the way the police treated his son as “shocking,” considering that it was “inhuman and degrading,” while the killer received different treatment and his story was believed.
The victim’s family allowed the police to publish the video, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as “horrific and shocking,” stressing that the decision of the independent body charged with monitoring police complaints to open an investigation into the way officers dealt with the incident was appropriate.
In a remarkable development, American businessman Elon Musk, through the “X” platform, offered to fund a private lawsuit against the British police because of the way they dealt with crime.
In parallel, Digua appeared again in court alongside his brother Gurpreet Digua (27 years old) and his father Moga Singh (52 years old) on charges related to possession of offensive weapons, including a folding knife, a club, a cleaver, and swords.
The court decided to release the brother and father on bail until the next hearing scheduled for next July, while the Degoa family apologized to the Novak family and the Sikh community for the crime.
The court is scheduled to issue its ruling against the killer’s mother, Kiran Kaur (53 years old), on July 17, after convicting her of assisting one of the perpetrators by returning the knife to the family home.
