Disgraced police officer who ‘grabbed woman’s breasts’ inside Heaven nightclub quits
A Metropolitan Police officer accused of groping a woman at one of London’s best-known nightclubs has quit the force in disgrace before he could be sacked over the incident.
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PC Sijanta Thapa, 31, was spotted on CCTV pulling the woman onto his lap before grabbing her breasts while on a night out with friends at Heaven nightclub.
Thapa faced a criminal sexual assault charge but the case against him was dropped ahead of a planned trial.
He was still set for Met disciplinary proceedings but resigned at the start of July ahead of the formal hearing, it has emerged.
Thapa, formerly of the Met’s Central West command unit covering areas across central and southwest London, would have been sacked if he had not already quit.
It comes after a panel found that he did grab the woman’s breasts in Heaven on January 16 last year, which left the woman “feeling terrible”.
He later lied about the incident to try and cover his tracks, the panel found.
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CCTV revealed the moment she was groped before pulling away from the officer and rushing off.
The officer had been out with friends at the club when the woman danced with and briefly kissed him, the misconduct hearing heard.
He later led the woman to a bench and pulled her on to his lap before grabbing her breasts.
“This has left me feeling terrible.
“An unknown male grabbed my boobs when I didn’t want him to,” she told police.
She said she was “fine” with a dance and a “quick kiss” , but was left distressed from the officer’s actions that followed.
“When I was sat on his lap I was facing away from him he has then started grabbing both of my boobs,” she said.
“I immediately felt scared and pushed his hands off me and I said no. I got up straight away and walked back over to my friends at the bar.”
A friend shared how the woman was crying and distressed and said “please help me” after the incident.
But Thapa claimed the woman gave consent in a subsequent police interview, claiming she had been “grinding” against his lap.
The misconduct panel later concluded that he had been lying.
“The CCTV does not show (her) behaving in the manner described by Former PC Thapa, or in the opinion of the Panel, in a manner which suggests that she was giving consent to intimate sexual contact,” the panel found.
They added: “In the opinion of the panel, it is highly likely that Former PC Thapa made up this false account after he had been shown the CCTV during his police interview in an attempt to explain his behaviour.
“In the opinion of the Panel, (his) attempt to fabricate a story that is completely undermined by the CCTV tends to suggest that it is more likely than not Former PC Thapa knew that he did not have consent to touch her breasts.”
While Thapa quit before he could be sacked, he will now be added to a police barring list.
Heaven, one of London’s best known nightclubs, has previously had its licence suspended over claims a woman was raped by 'a member of security staff'.
It followed another incident in May when three members of the venue’s security team were filmed assaulting a customer in the street.
The legendary nightclub, located on Villiars Street in Central London, has played host to some the world's biggest acts - including Adele, New Order and Lady Gaga.