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Columnist Hasan Suroor caught in paedophilia sting in London
Hasan Suroor, a well-known Britain-based journalist of Indian origin, has been arrested following a sting operation by an anti-paedophile vigilante group, according to media reports.
Hasan Suroor, a well-known Britain-based journalist of Indian origin, has been arrested following a sting operation by an anti-paedophile vigilante group, according to media reports.
Unknown TV, the vigilante group, posted a video on its Facebook page that showed its members confronting 65-year-old Suroor after he purportedly travelled from Chelsea to Deptford in London on November 9 to meet a 14-year-old girl.
In the video, members of the group can be heard telling Suroor about details of his conversations with the girl, which, according to them, purportedly indicated he had arrived for a sexual encounter.
Suroor can be heard saying, “Look I tried to tell her that…I’m very old. I didn’t say I want to have sex, I said I leave it up to you entirely.” He repeatedly asks the members of the group to “forgive” him and says, “I’m not denying (it)…can you let me go with a warning?”
He does not deny the group’s accusations that he had conversations of sexual nature with the girl. The members of Unknown TV also hint that one of them had posed as the girl for online conversations with Suroor.
Reports in the international media quoted a spokesperson for British Transport Police as saying a 65-year-old man was arrested at Deptford Bridge railway station on November 9 and would be produced in court on Wednesday.
Attempts to reach Suroor for comment were unsuccessful.
Unknown TV did not release the purported conversations between Suroor and the girl. There was also no proof of an actual sexual encounter involving Suroor.
Suroor, who is based in London, writes columns for several Indian publications.
