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Social media influencer Bobby Kataria, also known as Balwant Kataria, has been arrested on charges of human trafficking. The 38-year-old Gurugram-based influencer, who has over 3 lakh followers on Instagram. He had allegedly promised two youths from Uttar Pradesh employment in the UAE and Singapore.
Victims Arun Kumar and Manish Tomar paid Kataria ₹4 lahks each. But they were instead taken to Laos, where they were forced to work in an illegal call center. Their passports were confiscated and they were threatened with dire consequences if they did not comply.
After two days of forced labor, the victims managed to escape and sought help from the Indian embassy in Vientiane. They were subsequently repatriated to India, where they filed a complaint against Kataria.
Bobby Kataria’s arrest has exposed a large human trafficking ring in which Kataria allegedly brought around 150 Indians, including women, through brokers on the pretext of providing them jobs abroad.
The case has been registered under sections 370 (trafficking of persons), 364 (kidnapping for murder), and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code. During the investigation, suspicious documents and a huge amount of cash were recovered from Kataria’s house.
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