Scotland Yard celebrates 50th anniversary of its first Sikh female officer

On Monday, Scotland Yard celebrated the 50th anniversary of the joining of its first ever South Asian and Sikh female police officer Karpal Kaur Sandhu. Police Constable (PC) Sandhu served the Metropolitan Police in London between 1971 and 1973.

The virtual celebration was organised by the National Sikh Police Association UK and the Met Police Sikh Association. 

PC Sandhu was born to a Sikh family in Zanzibar, East Africa in 1943 and came to the UK in 1962. She subsequently worked as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital before joining the Metropolitan police force at the age of 27 in 1971. 

She served at Hornsey police station before moving to Leyton in east London. 

Sandhu’s bright career was brought to an end very early when she was killed by her husband during an altercation in 1973 at the age of 30. Her husband was reportedly opposed to her choice of career and was given life imprisonment for her murder.