Who is the influencer Bobby Kataria, arrested for human trafficking

Controversial social media influencer Bobby Kataria was arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged human trafficking of two men from Uttar Pradesh, police said.

The arrest took place after the Gurugram Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a collaborative search operation at his residence in Sector 109. The authorities seized a huge quantity of cash and suspicious documents establishing his association with an international human trafficking network, according to police.

The two men from Uttar Pradesh, Arun Kumar and Manish Tomar, filed a complaint against Bobby Kataria who promised them job opportunities abroad, only to cheat them after taking money and sending them in Vientiane for illegal operations. The two men managed to escape.

“Around 150 Indians, including women, were brought into this business through human trafficking by brokers like Bobby Kataria, under the pretext of jobs. Somehow, we got fled from there and reached the Indian embassy We came back to India and lodged a police complaint against Kataria,” the complainant told the police.

Apart from this, he also allegedly forced them to commit illegal cyber fraud on behalf of a Chinese organization and confiscated their passports and other personal documents.

5 points about Bobby Kataria:

1. Bobby Kataria's real name is Balwant Singh Kataria. Besides being an influencer, he is also a bodybuilder and a businessman. Kataria holds a bachelor's degree in law and is an all-time weightlifter and state record holder.

2. It is associated with welfare, education, social work and other public service activities. He is the founder of the non-profit Yuva Ekta Foundation, according to his LinkedIn account.

3. Bobby Kataraia runs his YouTube channel MBK and has been accused of posting controversial and vulgar content on the platform and his other social media channels. His Instagram account is now deactivated.

4. In 2022, Delhi Police arrested Kataria for smoking inside an airplane. The same year, the social media personality posted a video in which he was seen drinking alcohol in public and blocking a road. The Dehradun court has issued an arrest warrant against the influencer.

5. Later in 2022, the Gurugram police filed another FIR against Kataria, this time for beating a woman, sharing derogatory remarks about her on social media and issuing death threats to her.