UK Sikh restaurateur calls for kirpan ban after murder conviction

Harman Singh Kapoor, who runs the London restaurant Rangrez, has called for a ban on kirpans. He argues that the ceremonial blade, sacred in Sikhism, is increasingly being misused as a weapon against defenceless people.

Kapoor's statement came days after Vickrum Digwa, 23, was convicted of murdering 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak with a 21cm kirpan. Digwa claimed he acted in self-defence during their confrontation. A jury rejected that claim and found him guilty of murder. His mother was also convicted of assisting an offender after helping remove the weapon from the scene.

The conviction has renewed debate over UK laws that permit Sikhs to carry kirpans. These blades are one of five articles of faith observed by initiated Sikhs. Reform UK Spokesperson Zia Yusuf said his party would end the exemption if elected to government. "I don't care what religion you are. Nobody other than law enforcement will get to carry deadly weapons under a Reform government," Yusuf wrote on X.

Opinion splits both inside and outside the Sikh community. Some supporters of the current exemption argue that most kirpan carriers wear the blade only as a religious symbol, not as an actual weapon.