NAGPUR: A 17-year-old girl from the city has conceived after an alleged physical relationship with her 19-year-old former classmate at a private-cabin cafe near Tiranga Chowk, prompting Kotwali police to register a case under the POCSO Act and provisions relating to rape.The episode has revived concern over cafes that openly market secluded cabins to young couples.According to police, the girl and accused Sameer Khan were classmates in Class 11 Science at a Nandanvan school in 2024. Their friendship later turned into a relationship. Though Khan left school, the two continued to meet.On May 1, around 7pm, he took her to a cafe with a private cabin in the Kotwali police station limits near Tiranga Chowk.Police said the girl later became pregnant.
Privacy for sale
Her mother and grandmother then admitted her to a private hospital on Wardha Road for an abortion.Hospital authorities alerted police.The staffers from Dhantoli police station recorded her statement at the hospital.As the place of occurrence falls under Kotwali, the papers were transferred and Kotwali registered the crime under relevant POCSO and other sections.Khan, who has no prior criminal record, is still on the run.Investigation is on.The case has again drawn attention to the cafe culture that city police had already put under watch earlier this year.Several cafe establishments in east and south Nagpur, including the Nandanvan-Tiranga Chowk belt, have been promoting “private cabins”, curtained enclosures and dimly lit compartments on social media platforms as spaces for couples seeking privacy.Locals and officers have long alleged that the pitch is less about food and more about selling secrecy to teenagers.A police crackdown followed after violence in Nandanvan earlier in 2026, when a confrontation around late-night cafe activity escalated into arson and nearly triggered a communal rift.Senior officers had then directed local units to intensify checks on cafes using hospitality as a cover for illegal or indecent activities.Officers said the hospital’s alert and the girl’s statement will form the core of the probe.They also indicated that the cafe’s operation, licensing and the manner in which private cabins are offered to young couples will be examined.
