Who Is Influencer Bobby Kataria, Arrested Over Human Trafficking Charges

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

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

The two Uttar Pradesh men— Arun Kumar and Manish Tomar — lodged a complaint that Bobby Kataria promised them job opportunities abroad, only to deceive them after taking money and sending them to Vientiane for unlawful operations. The two managed to escape from there. 

“About 150 Indians, including women were brought into that company through human trafficking by brokers like Bobby Kataria on the pretext of jobs. Somehow, we escaped from there and reached the Indian Embassy and came back to India and filed a police complaint against Kataria,” the complainant told the police.

Apart from that, he also allegedly forced them to commit illegal cyber fraud on behalf of a Chinese organisation and took away 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 businessman. Kataria has a Bachelor’s in Law degree, and he is an All-Time Events and State record-holding powerlifter. 

2. He is associated with welfare, education, social work, and other public-serving activities. He is the founder of the non-profit NGO organisation 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 handles. His Instagram account has been disabled now. 

4. In 2022, the Delhi Police arrested Kataria for smoking inside an aeroplane. 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 issued a non-bailable warrant against the influencer. 

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