Bobby Kataria arrested: Gurugram YouTuber accused of running human trafficking ring for Chinese company

Gurugram police on Monday arrested social media influencer Bobby Kataria for allegedly running an international human trafficking ring, officials told India Today TV. Kataria was arrested following a joint raid by the Gurugram police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at his residence in Sector 109 of Gurugram.

During the searches, authorities recovered several suspicious documents and a huge stash of cash, officials said.

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Kataria was arrested following an FIR filed against him by the Gurugram police, which alleged that he and other human traffickers held more than 150 Indians captive, seized their passports and other documents, and had forced them to participate in cyber fraud operations for a Chinese company.

The FIR also stated that the victims were also subjected to severe ill-treatment.

Arun Kumar of Gopalganj, Uttar Pradesh, and Manish Tomar of Dhaulapur, Hapur, filed a complaint with the Gurugram police, alleging that Bobby Kataria had advertised foreign job opportunities on his Instagram page.

Influenced by the ad, they contacted Kataria's team and were called to its office in Sector 109, Gurugram, where they were charged a registration fee of Rs 2,000 and promised jobs in the UAE United. In pursuit of their dreams, they ended up paying Rs 3.5 lakh in three installments into Kataria's accounts.

The victims said they were sent to Vientiane (Laos) with tickets provided by Kataria. Upon arrival, they were met by an associate of Kataria who identified himself as Pakistani and took them to a hotel in Vientiane.

The next day, they met another individual named Abhi, who gave them train tickets to Navatuai. Upon arriving at Navatuai, they met Ankit Shaukeen and Nitish Sharma, who took them to a Chinese company where their passports were confiscated, and they were held captive and assaulted.

The plaintiffs said they were coerced into engaging in illegal cyberfraud activities in the United States. Desperate and distressed, they eventually managed to escape and reach the Indian embassy, ​​where they denounced Bobby Kataria and his network.

Police and NIA are probing the case to arrest other accused involved in the human trafficking syndicate.

This is not the first time that Bobby Kataria has been arrested. Previously, he was arrested in a case of extortion and abuse of a woman on social media.

In August 2022, a case was filed against Bobby Kataria 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, when he asked someone to record a video of him smoking a cigarette inside a SpiceJet flight.