Kiran Kaur, the mother of convicted murderer Vickrum Digwa, will be released early from prison under the UK government’s early release scheme. Kaur was originally sentenced to three years in prison on July 17 after a jury convicted her of assisting an offender. She removed the murder weapon from the scene after the killing of 18-year-old Southampton student Henry Nowak.
The tragic incident occurred on December 3 of last year. Mr. Nowak was walking home from a night out when he was stabbed to death with an eight-inch ceremonial dagger. Vickrum Digwa, 23, was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced in June to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. During the trial, a jury rejected Digwa’s false claims that he had been subjected to a racist attack by the teenager.
Details of the Offence and Court Findings
Following the sentencings, the Crown Prosecution Service released phone footage capturing the moment Digwa spoke to his mother in Punjabi, instructing her to take away the weapon used in the attack. A transcript revealed Digwa telling Kaur, “Take this.”
During sentencing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge William Mousley noted that Kaur knew or believed her son had stabbed and injured Mr. Nowak. Judge Mousley stated that a responsible parent would have challenged their son and encouraged him to surrender instead of concealing the weapon among a collection of ceremonial items in her son’s bedroom. The judge criticized her actions for supporting the perpetrator’s false claims and compounding the degradation of the victim.
Prosecuting barrister Nicholas Lobbenberg confirmed that police did not recover the weapon until December 10, a week after the fatal attack.
Early Release Scheme and Deportation Status
Under the government’s early release scheme, designed to ease severe prison overcrowding across England and Wales, Kaur will serve less than half of her three-year term. Having spent approximately seven months on remand prior to sentencing, she is anticipated to be freed in December.
Because Kaur is an Indian national, she is eligible for the government’s deportation scheme. A Home Office spokesman emphasized that officials constantly seek to deport foreign criminals at the first available opportunity, though a formal decision on her removal has not yet been finalized.
Upcoming Legal Appeals
Despite her impending release, Kaur is actively appealing her sentence. She is scheduled to appear at the Court of Appeal on November 5. On the same date, the court will review an appeal by Digwa against his sentence, alongside a referral by the Attorney General arguing that his 21-year minimum term is too lenient. Digwa is also separately pursuing an appeal against his underlying murder conviction.
The early release initiative, launched to manage prison capacities, continues to draw intense scrutiny and criticism from crime victims and their families as waves of offenders are cleared for premature liberation.
