August 19, 2026 10:02 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Supreme Court rejects ‘less painful’ death penalty plea, but leaves door open for future change | ‘Vulgarity and disgust’: DMK attacks Vijay over Trisha salute at I-Day event | ‘Take Gyanesh Kumar to the US’: Congress mocks Trump over praise for India’s voter ID system | Big relief for Imran Khan: Pakistan Supreme Court orders hospital transfer amid health fears | Trump praises India’s voter ID system, pushes SAVE America Act | Trump's shock threat to bomb Oman: US President warns ally over Iran deal and Hormuz crisis | Rishabh Pant scripts history! Indian wicketkeeper-batter joins elite 100-sixes club in Test cricket | BJP reshuffles top organisation seven months after Nitin Nabin's elevation | West Bengal STF arrests suspected aide of ISI 'agent' Rana Rauf in Kolkata | ‘Very hopeful’: Indian envoy Dinesh Trivedi breaks silence on PM Tarique Rahman’s proposed India visit
Pravna Bhatt openly acknowledged exchanging sexually explicit messages with a 14-year-old girl. Photo: Videograb from X.

Indian graduate confronted in UK over alleged sexual grooming of minor

| @indiablooms | Jun 05, 2026, at 11:02 pm

A viral social media video has exposed a deeply troubling incident in the United Kingdom involving 27-year-old Pravna Bhatt, an Indian national accused of attempting to sexually groom a minor.

The footage shows Bhatt being cornered and questioned by local vigilantes identifying themselves as "British patriots."

During the confrontation, a visibly shaken Bhatt is seen admitting to his actions and pleading with the group for leniency and a "last chance."

Explicit texts sent despite awareness of legal consequences

According to the report, Bhatt openly acknowledged exchanging sexually explicit messages with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.

Evidence from the digital exchange indicates he was fully aware of the illegal nature of his actions; upon learning the girl's age, he allegedly messaged, "I will go to jail," accompanied by laughing emojis.

Despite this realization, he continued the inappropriate communication, sent an explicit video of himself, and urged the minor to sneak into his room.

Attempted real-world meeting interrupted

The grooming attempt escalated from online messaging to an attempted physical encounter. Bhatt allegedly tried to borrow money from the minor to book a hotel room where they could meet.

He was reportedly intercepted and confronted by the vigilante group at the designated meeting location while waiting for the individual to arrive.

It remains unconfirmed whether the operation utilized an adult decoy profile—a standard tactic in online grooming stings—or if a minor was directly targeted.

Growing public scrutiny

Bhatt revealed during the confrontation that he moved to the UK three years ago on a student visa, graduating from the University of Leeds, and was currently residing in the country on a post-study work visa.

This incident follows a similar high-profile case from January, where another international student, Gureet Jeetesh, was arrested in Coventry under similar allegations.

These consecutive incidents have fueled intensified public debate regarding visa oversight and student conduct in the UK.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.