Mother of The Man Who Killed Henry Nowak Set for Early Release Under UK Overcrowding Scheme
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Post By
Emmie
- October 16, 2026
The mother of the man convicted of murdering 18-year-old student Henry Nowak is expected to be freed from prison early as part of the government's measures to tackle severe overcrowding in prisons.
Kiran Kaur, 53, was sentenced to three years in July after being convicted of assisting an offender. Following the murder of Nowak in Southampton last December, Kaur arrived at the scene and removed the knife used by her son, Vickrum Digwa, taking it back to their family home and concealing it among other weapons.
Under the government's early release scheme, which adjusted fixed-term sentences under the Sentencing Act, prisoners serving sentences under two and a half years can be released after serving a third of their term rather than half, accounting for 221 days already spent on remand. Reports indicate Kaur could be released as early as December, near the one-year anniversary of the fatal attack.
The impending release has drawn strong criticism from officials. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones stated that her release will be “a significant blow for Henry's family,"
Jones added:
"She wasn't even sentenced until July this year, which was just three months ago, and here we are now talking about her potential release."
Despite being eligible for early release under the overcrowding initiative, Kaur is also actively appealing her sentence. Her appeal is scheduled to be heard at the Court of Appeal on November 5th. Her son Digwa, who was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 21 years for murder after falsely claiming Nowak had racially abused him, is also challenging his sentence and conviction on the same date.
As an Indian national, Kaur is eligible for government deportation consideration. While the Home Office declined to comment on specific cases, a spokesperson said:
"Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Henry Nowak, whose life was cruelly cut short in a horrific act of violence…We will always seek to deport foreign criminals at the first opportunity."
If Kaur holds dual British citizenship, the home secretary would be required to revoke her citizenship status before any removal could proceed.
When sentencing Kaur in July, Judge William Mousley KC noted that while she was unlikely to reoffend and acted out of a mistaken desire to protect her son rather than for personal gain, her actions warranted punishment:
"A responsible parent would have challenged their son…You took the knife and put it at home with other weapons in your son's bedroom."
He went on to say:
"However, the seriousness of your offending, requires you to be punished and others who might find themselves in a similar situation to be deterred from doing as you did."
The early release initiative aims to alleviate capacity pressures across overcrowded prisons in England and Wales by releasing thousands of eligible inmates in stages, though the policy continues to draw scrutiny from victims' families and public safety advocates.
