Scotland Yard celebrates first-ever Sikh female police officer

Scotland Yard has celebrated the 50th anniversary of Karpal Kaur Sandhu joining its ranks as the first South Asian and Sikh female police officer paving the way for others to follow in her footstepsPolice Constable PC Sandhu served the Metropolitan Police in London between 1971 and 1973 and has been dubbed as a ldquotrue pioneerrdquo for police forces across the UKldquoPC Karpal Kaur Sandhu was a true pioneer and ahead of her time I have no doubt that her decision to join the Met Police in 1971 was a brave one and she would have faced considerable challenges along the wayrdquo said Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball on MondayldquoAs Britains and the Metrsquos first Asian female officer Karpal paved the way for so many others who have gone into policing since 1971 Fifty years to the day Monday after PC Sandhu joined the Met I am pleased that we are able to remember her life her career and the legacy she has left policing she saidThe National Sikh Police Association UK joined forces with the Met Police Sikh Association for a special virtual event in memory of PC Sandhu on MondayldquoToday together with representatives from the Metrsquos Sikh Association Met police officers and staff and the wider Sikh community we remember Karpalrsquos special contribution to policing as the UKrsquos first female Asian and Sikh police officerrdquo said Ravjeet Gupta Chair of the Metropolitan Police Sikh AssociationldquoKarpal was an invaluable ambassador for the Met who helped break down barriers with Londons communities and will always be remembered for being a trailblazer of her timerdquo said GuptaPC Sandhu was born to a Sikh family in Zanzibar East Africa in 1943 and came to the UK in 1962 where she got a job as a nurse at Chase Farm HospitalShe joined the Met in 1971 at the age of 27 where she served at Hornsey police station before moving to Leyton in east LondonldquoIrsquom so proud of my mother and her legacy as the UKrsquos first female police officer from an Asian and Sikh background Itrsquos wonderful that 50 years on she is remembered and is an inspiration to generations of new female police officers joining the Metrdquo said Romy Sandhu Karpal Kaur Sandhursquos daughterAt a time when there would have only been about 700 female officers in the Met she was both the first female Sikh and female South Asian police officer in the UKWriting in a report at the time her Chief Superintendent said that she was ldquoproving invaluable with our dealings with the immigrant population and she is also assisting other divisions in this work and also in teaching police officers Asian dialectsHe added that she was ldquoenergetic intelligent and conscientiousrdquo and enjoyed playing hockey and drivingThe Met Police said that PC Sandhu passed away in ldquotragic circumstancesrdquo in November 1973 and sadly the force lost a promising officer who had a bright futureSandhu aged 30 was killed in an altercation with her husband who was reportedly opposed to her career choice and was later sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder in 1974This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever