 "Balwant Kataria, Balwant, Bobby Kataria, Bobby")
A 38-year-old social media influencer Bobby Kataria found himself in one more scandal as Gurgaon Police arrested him on Monday on charges of alleged illegal human trafficking.
Two men filed complaints with the Gurugram police, claiming that Kataria had deceived them of over Rs 4 lakh under the pretext of being provided with employment opportunities abroad.
As per the complaint recorded by Arun Kumar, a resident of Fatehpur, and Manish Tomar, a resident of Dholana in Uttar Pradesh, they went over an ad on Instagram offering an opportunity to work abroad. The ad was posted from the official Instagram ID and YouTube channel of Kataria.
What is the case filed against Bobby Kataria?
Two men from Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, claim they were deceived by Bobby Kataria, who vowed to assist them with securing jobs in the UAE. They gave him Rs 4-5 lakh, however, rather than going to the UAE, they were taken to an alternate Asian country. There, they say they had to work in a fake call centre for three days, defrauding people.
They figured out how to get away and sought help from the Indian embassy to return to India. Following their complaint, a FIR was filed against Kataria who was then arrested from his office in Gurugram.
They stated that, "About 150 Indians, including women were brought into that company through human trafficking by brokers like Bobby Kataria on the pretext of jobs”.
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Their trouble began when they saw an ad on Instagram, apparently offering employment opportunities abroad. The ad was posted on Kataria's official Instagram and YouTube. They reached him and were told to meet him at his office in a Gurugram mall, which prompted their ordeal.
Apart from that, he likewise forced them to commit illegal cyber fraud on behalf of a Chinese organisation and took their visas and other personal documents.
Who is Bobby Kataria, an accused in human trafficking?
• Balwant Singh Kataria aka Bobby Kataria is a social media influencer, bodybuilder, and businessman situated in Gurugram, as per his IMDb page.
• Hailing from Haryana's Basai town, Kataria is the founder behind the Yuva Ekta Foundation, an NGO founded in Gurgaon.
• His LinkedIn profile expresses that he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and is likewise an all-Time Events and State Record-holding powerlifter.
• Kataria has an Instagram following of over 3.5 lakh, however both his Instagram and YouTube accounts are at present disabled. A few Facebook videos portray him examining a job for employment in Russia, as well as exhibiting purported Canada visas he got for his clients.
Bobby Kataria previous complaints
In 2022, an FIR was filed against him for allegedly posting obscene comments about a woman via social media and issuing threats against her. That very year, Kataria was apprehended by the Delhi Police for smoking inside a plane.
Furthermore, a Dehradun court gave a non-bailable warrant against him after he shared a video wherein he was seen consuming liquor openly and obstructing a street.
