Gurugram Police apprehended social media influencer Bobby Kataria on Monday for purportedly managing an international human trafficking network, as reported by India Today. Kataria’s arrest ensued from a collaborative operation between Gurugram Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at his residence in Gurugram’s Sector-109.
During the operation, authorities discovered several suspicious documents and a significant amount of cash.
Kataria’s arrest followed an FIR lodged by Gurugram Police, alleging his involvement, along with other traffickers, in the detention of over 150 Indians, confiscating their passports and other documents, and coercing them into cyber fraud activities for a Chinese corporation. The FIR also outlined severe mistreatment endured by the victims.
Two individuals, Arun Kumar from Gopalganj, Uttar Pradesh, and Manish Tomar from Dhaulapur, Hapur, filed a complaint with Gurugram Police, accusing Bobby Kataria of promoting overseas job opportunities on his Instagram page.
Inspired by the advertisement, they contacted Kataria’s team and visited his office in Sector 109, Gurugram, where they paid a registration fee of Rs 2,000 and were promised jobs in the UAE. In pursuit of their aspirations, they ended up transferring Rs 3.5 lakh in three installments to Kataria’s accounts.
According to the victims, they were sent to Vientiane (Laos) on tickets provided by Kataria. Upon arrival, they were greeted by an associate who identified himself as Pakistani and escorted them to a hotel in Vientiane.
The following day, they encountered an individual named Abhi, who provided them with train tickets to Navatuai. Upon arrival, they were met by Ankit Shaukeen and Nitish Sharma, who escorted them to a Chinese company where their passports were seized, and they were subjected to captivity and abuse.
The complainants stated they were coerced into participating in illegal American cyber fraud activities. In a state of desperation, they managed to escape and seek refuge at the Indian embassy, where they exposed Bobby Kataria and his network.
Law enforcement agencies, including the police and NIA, are conducting further investigations to apprehend other individuals implicated in the human trafficking syndicate.
This is not the first instance of Bobby Kataria’s arrest. Previously, he was detained in a case related to extortion and online harassment of a woman.
In August 2022, a case was registered against him in Dehradun after a video depicting him consuming alcohol in the middle of a road circulated on social media.
The Gurugram-based influencer was also arrested in 2022 for filming himself smoking a cigarette inside a SpiceJet flight.