Cyber Crime
From Insta Fame to Human Trafficking Shame: How Bobby Kataria Was Arrested in International Human Trafficking Racket
– Gurugram Police and NIA arrested social media influencer Bobby Kataria for allegedly running an international human trafficking network.
– He and his associates held over 150 Indians captive and forced them into cyber fraud operations.
GURUGRAM: In a joint operation by the Gurugram Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), social media influencer Balwant Kataria aka Bobby Kataria was arrested on Monday for allegedly running an international human trafficking network. The arrest came after raids were conducted at Kataria’s residence in Sector-109, Gurugram, where officials recovered suspicious documents and a substantial amount of cash.
The arrest follows an FIR filed by the Gurugram Police, alleging that Kataria and his associates held over 150 Indians captive, seized their passports and other documents, and forced them into cyber fraud operations for a Chinese company. The victims were subjected to severe mistreatment, according to the FIR.
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The case came to light when Arun Kumar from Gopalganj, Uttar Pradesh, and Manish Tomar from Dhaulapur, Hapur, filed a complaint against Kataria. They alleged that Kataria advertised overseas job opportunities on his Instagram page, luring them with promises of employment in the UAE. Influenced by the advertisements, they paid Kataria’s team a registration fee of Rs 2,000 and eventually ended up paying Rs 3.5 lakh in three installments into Kataria’s accounts.
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However, instead of being provided with jobs in the UAE, the victims reported that they were sent to Vientiane, Laos, on tickets provided by Kataria. Upon arrival, they were met by Kataria’s associates, including a Pakistani national, who took them to a hotel. The next day, they were given train tickets to Navatuai, where they encountered Ankit Shaukeen and Nitish Sharma, who confiscated their passports and took them to a Chinese company.
The complainants alleged that they were held captive, assaulted, and forced into illegal American cyber fraud activities for the Chinese company. Desperate and distressed, they eventually escaped and sought help from the Indian embassy, exposing Kataria’s trafficking syndicate.
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The Gurugram Police and the NIA are conducting further investigations to apprehend other individuals involved in the human trafficking racket.
This is not the first time that Bobby Kataria has faced legal troubles. Earlier, he was arrested in a case related to extortion and abusing a woman on social media. In August 2022, a case was lodged against him in Dehradun after a video of him drinking alcohol in the middle of a road went viral on social media. The Gurugram-based influencer was also arrested in 2022 for having someone record a video of him smoking a cigarette inside a SpiceJet flight.
The arrest of Bobby Kataria has shed light on the growing menace of organized crime syndicates exploiting vulnerable individuals with false promises of employment abroad. Authorities are determined to crack down on such networks and bring the perpetrators to justice.