Sikh community leaders have spoken out against misleading reporting in the media which claimed that Vickrum Digwa murdered Henry Nowak using his kirpan, a knife carried as one of the five articles (pañj kakkē or ‘five Ks’) of the Sikh faith. The community leaders also highlighted a “huge increase in hate crime” against Sikhs in the days around the trial, which concluded on 1 June.  During the trial at Southampton crown court, the prosecution recounted that Digwa was wearing a kirpan beneath his clothing. However, he was also carrying an 8-inch blade, with which he murdered Nowak. ‘Your actions have stirred…