Some calls to ban the kirpan in the UK after the murder conviction of a man using a knife he claimed to carry for religious reasons “unfairly" targeted an entire community for the actions of a criminal, British Sikh groups have cautioned.
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was found guilty of fatally stabbing Henry Nowak, 18, with a 21-cm dagger last December and his mother, 53-year-old Kiran Kaur, was convicted of assisting an offender at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday.
During the trial, Digwa had denied the murder charges and claimed to have used the knife he carried ceremonially in self-defence. The case threw the spotlight on the kirpan, with far-right groups such as the Restore Britain party calling for a ban.
“Calls to ban the kirpan in response to this murder risk unfairly targeting an entire community for the actions of a single criminal individual," the City Sikhs Foundation said in a statement.
“The actions of one individual can never and should never be used to define an entire faith community. The British Sikh community is one of the most well-integrated and law-abiding communities in the UK, with a proud history in this country spanning more than 160 years.
“The kirpan is a symbolic article of faith for Sikhs initiated into the Khalsa tradition. It is a constant reminder to Sikhs of the need to defend the most vulnerable in society, and it has been worn responsibly in Britain for generations," it said.
The charity reiterated that it “utterly condemns" the horrific murder of Nowak and the individual responsible for the “appalling act".
“We urge unity, calm and responsible public discourse at this very difficult time," it added.
The murder trial highlighted the legal parameters around the Sikh community’s right to carry a kirpan, with Judge William Mousley noting that under UK law such a bladed item must be for religious or self-defence reasons.
“This is not a case about Sikhism. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder," prosecutor Nicholas Lobbenberg had told the jury before it found Digwa guilty of murder and possession of a bladed article.
Sikh Federation UK also condemned the “unlawful killing", which it feared had “unnecessarily stirred up community hatred".
“We understand in this case the weapon that may have been used was not the normal kirpan worn by fully practising Sikhs. This nuance is critically important and may not have been explained or understood by those asked to give evidence in this case," the group stated.
“Now the trial is over we want to make absolutely clear the law only provides fully practising Sikhs with a defence under the law to wear a kirpan for religious reasons. If a kirpan or a bladed item is used aggressively in an act of violence, the defence under the law for a kirpan does not apply and it is deemed an offensive weapon," it added.
