Who is Nisarg Jaydeep Shah, Indian-origin professor accused of sexting a minor?

WEB DESK: Did a University of California San Diego associate professor attempt to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex, and why was he allowed to leave without arrest? Those are the questions swirling after a vigilante group known as People v Preds released a video confronting Indian-origin academic Nisarg Jaydeep Shah at a grocery store in San Diego.

The footage by Brut India shows a member of the group reading out explicit messages allegedly exchanged between Shah and a decoy posing as a 14-year-old. In the clip, the activist allegedly accuses Shah of discussing sexual acts, asking for photographs, and planning a meeting, even alleging he brought lubricant and other items for the encounter. “I need to maybe get help or something,” Shah is heard saying, admitting he felt “horrible,” though the activist presses him on whether his remorse was genuine or simply fear of being caught.

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The group claims the messages were exchanged on August 2 and say this is one of more than 500 such confrontations they have staged. Yet, despite two San Diego Police Department patrol cars arriving at the scene, officers reportedly told the vigilantes they had no power to arrest Shah because the group is “its own entity” and not law enforcement. His phone was seized as evidence, and the case was referred to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, but Shah was not taken into custody.

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UC San Diego has faced criticism for not immediately suspending Shah. In a statement, the university confirmed it was aware of the allegations and pledged to cooperate with authorities, saying “the health, well-being and safety of our campus community members is our top priority.”

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Shah, a highly credentialed academic with degrees from Johns Hopkins and MIT and postdoctoral research at Harvard, has not commented publicly since the incident. For now, the questions, about his alleged actions, the university’s response, and the limits of vigilante justice, remain unanswered.

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