An Ex-Met Police Officer quits before sacking after groping a woman. This is because the Metropolitan Police officer accused of groping a woman at a nightclub has resigned. He did so before he could be formally dismissed over the incident.
PC Sijanta Thapa, 31, formerly of the Met’s Central West command unit, was captured on CCTV. He was seen pulling the woman onto his lap and grabbing her breasts. This occurred at Heaven nightclub in central London on 16 January 2024, the same nightclub where the ex-Met officer faced accusations before quitting.
The misconduct panel found that his actions left the victim “feeling terrible” and distressed, despite his claims that the encounter was consensual.
Criminal case dropped – but misconduct proved
Thapa was originally charged with sexual assault, but the criminal case was dropped before reaching trial. The ex-Met police officer faced an internal investigation before quitting.
However, a Met disciplinary panel ruled that he had lied about the incident. This was in an attempt to cover his tracks after being confronted with CCTV evidence.
The victim told police:
“An unknown male grabbed my boobs when I didn’t want him to. I immediately felt scared and pushed his hands off me and said no.”
She said she had been fine with dancing and a “quick kiss” earlier, but became frightened when the officer escalated the encounter.
A friend recalled how the woman was left in tears and told her “please help me” after the incident.
Panel: “He fabricated a story”
The misconduct hearing concluded Thapa had knowingly fabricated a false account after being shown CCTV during his police interview.
The panel said:
“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 she was giving consent. It is highly likely he made up this false account in an attempt to explain his behaviour.”
They added his behaviour “amounted to gross misconduct” and he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned in July, the ex-officer quitting ahead of his likely sacking.
Added to police barring list
Although Thapa quit before the outcome, he will now be added to the national police barring list, preventing him from serving in law enforcement again. This follows an ex-Met police officer quitting prior to being sacked for groping a woman.
Previous concerns at nightclub
The incident also comes after Heaven nightclub previously had its licence suspended. This followed a rape allegation involving a member of security staff. There was another incident in which security guards were filmed assaulting a customer in the street.
