When confronted, the Indian man accepted sending sexually explicit texts to the girl, despite knowing she was 14 years old.

London:

An Indian man has been caught in the United Kingdom while attempting to sexually groom a minor. The troubling incident drew widespread attention after a video went viral on social media, purportedly showing 27-year-old Pravna Bhatt being confronted by local vigilantes, who identified themselves as 'British patriots'. 

The clip showed Bhatt pleading for leniency when questioned about his online conversations with individuals he believed to be minors. NDTV could not confirm if the Indian man was caught using a decoy profile -- a common tactic in online grooming investigations -- or if he actually tried to groom an underage girl.

In the video, Bhatt said he moved to the UK three years ago on a student visa and was currently residing in the country on a post-study visa after completing his education at the University of Leeds. 

He accepted sending sexually explicit texts to the girl, despite knowing she was 14 years old. In one of the texts, when he got to know about the girl's age, he allegedly wrote "I will go to jail", along with laughing emojis. 

But despite knowing he was committing a felony, Bhatt accepted that he continued sending her inappropriate texts and asked her to 'sneak' her into his room to "make love". He also sent her a video of himself masturbating.

Bhatt then also tried to borrow money from the girl and asked her to pay for a room for both of them at a hotel. He appeared to have been caught while he was waiting to meet her. 

The clip showed the Indian man admitting to his wrongdoing and seeking forgiveness after being caught. "This is the first time I have done this, and it will be the last time... Please give me a last chance... I'm really sorry," he told the "British patriots". 

He also pleaded with them not to call the police on him.This was not the first incident in which an Indian man was arrested in the UK over allegations of online grooming involving underage girls. In January, another viral video showed the arrest of Gureet Jeetesh in the city of Coventry on suspicion of online grooming of minors. Jeetesh had arrived in Britain around three months ago and had been living in a student accommodation.