YouTuber Bobby Kataria Arrested For Human Trafficking; Probe Launched

On Monday, popular fitness influencer Balwant Kataria aka Bobby Kataria who often makes headlines for his various controversies, was arrested for alleged human trafficking and fraud. He was sent to a three-day police remand by a city court, police said on Tuesday. Rs 20 lakh in cash, some documents, and four mobile phones were also recovered from his possession, they added.

Here's What the Police Said:

As per the reports in PTI, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Crime Varun Dahiya said, "Accused Bobby Kataria has been taken on police remand for three days. All aspects of the investigation are being looked into by the police."

Photo Credit: Bobby Kataria Instagram

About the Case:

Influencer has been involved in a big nexus of human traffickers since last year and may have links with an international gang, the police said. Initial investigation in the case revealed that he had cheated several unemployed youths, who were helping him with his illegal business, they said.
Two men had approached Gurugram police accusing Bobby that he defrauded them of more than Rs 4 lakh in return for getting jobs in foreign countries.

What the Complaint Says:

As per the complaint lodged by Arun Kumar, a native of Fatehpur, and Manish Tomar, a resident of Dholana in Uttar Pradesh, they saw an advertisement on Instagram offering an opportunity to work abroad.
 
The ad was shared by the official social media handles of Kataria. On contacting the influencer, they were asked to meet him in his office at a Gurugram mall. 

"I met Bobby Kataria on February 1 in his office and he assured me of getting a job in the UAE after taking Rs 2,000 as a registration charge. I then transferred Rs 1.5 lakh to his account and got a ticket for Vientiane (capital of Laos)," Kumar told the police. 

"Similarly, my friend Manish Tomar was also assured of getting a job in Singapore. Kataria charged Rs 2.59 lakh from Tomar and he too got a ticket to Vientiane and boarded the flight on March 28," Kumar said. 

When we landed at the airport in Vientiane, we met a person named Abhi who mentioned himself as a friend of Kataria. A Pakistani man then dropped us at a hotel, he said. 

"The next day, we were taken to an anonymous Chinese company, where we were thrashed and our passports were taken away. We were forced to commit cyber fraud targeting US citizens. Around 150 Indians, including women, had been brought there through human trafficking and were being held hostage."

"On the third day, we managed to escape and approached the Indian Embassy. After returning, we asked Kataria to return our money, but he refused," the complainant added.
 
Following the complaint, an FIR was registered against Kataria and others under Sections 323 (causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 420 (cheating), 364 (abduction), 370 (buying and disposing of any person as a slave), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and section 10/24 of the Immigration Act. 

Kataria was arrested from his office, located in Conscient-One mall, sector 109 here.