London:
A 38-year-old Indian-origin woman police officer in the UK is facing an internal inquiry over an alleged shoe attack on another woman, reportedly her husband's lover.
Detective Sergeant Prabhjoat Sohi, who is one of the first ethnic minority female officers with Surrey Police and has been commended several times for her work, denied the charge of assaulting Rouksana Haji in April last year.
According to court documents, she is accused of confronting Haji at a medical centre in north west London on April 9 last year and punching the woman before hitting her with her own shoe.
"She hit me in the face and my shoe fell off. She picked it up and hit me in the face three or four times, calling me a 'dirty slag'," Haji told police.
This week a court case against her was dropped as Haji failed to appear at Willesden Magistrates' Court in London.
"Prabhjoat Sohi appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court where the common assault case against her following an incident in Pinner [north-west London] was dismissed by the court with no evidence offered," a Surrey Police spokesperson said.
"She has not been suspended and the matter is the subject of an ongoing internal investigation," the spokesperson said.
Sohi has been commended several times during her 13-year career with Surrey Police as one of the first ethnic minority female officers on the force.
It is understood that Sohi's husband is still with Haji.
Haji's injuries were shown to the magistrates and were said to include marks and bruises to her back.