Gurugram police arrest man for trafficking U.P. resident to Laos

Kataria has a history of brushes with the law. In September 2022, he was arrested by Delhi Police for smoking inside an aeroplane. The same year, in August, a Dehradun court issued a non-bailable warrant against him after the influencer shared a video in which he was seen drinking in public and blocking a road

Gurugram

The accused was identified as Balwant Kataria alias Bobby Kataria, a social media influencer with a history of brushes with the law, police said. (HT PHOTO)

The Gurugram police on Monday arrested a 38-year-old man from Sector 109 on charges of human trafficking, fraud, and other offences, officers said. The accused was identified as Balwant Kataria alias Bobby Kataria, a social media influencer with a history of brushes with the law, they said.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Karan Goel said Kataria took ₹4 lakh each from two Uttar Pradesh residents, Arun Kumar and Manish Tomar, promising them visas for jobs in the UAE and Singapore. The two men, however, were sent to the southeast Asian country of Laos instead, where they were assaulted and forced to work in an illegal call centre, and their passports were confiscated, he said.

Goel said that after working for two days at the call centre, Kumar and Tomar managed to flee to the Indian embassy in Vientiane, from where they returned to the country. “Once in India, the victims filed a complaint at the Bajghera police station (in Gurugram) on Monday,” the DCP said, adding that according to the victims, at least 150 more Indians are being held captive at the call centre.

On the basis of the complaint, a first information report (FIR) was filed against Kataria under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 420 (cheating), 364 (abduction), 370 (buying and disposing of any person as a slave), and 120B (criminal conspiracy), as well as section 10/24 of the Immigration Act.

“We took prompt action and arrested Kataria from a mall along the Dwarka Expressway,” Goel said.

According to police, the two men were taken to the call centre — run by a Chinese firm — by a Pakistani agent. “This incident has revealed Kataria’s Chinese and Pakistani connections that worked closely to dupe unemployed men,” the DCP said.

“We will produce him in a city court on Tuesday and ask for police remand while the probe is underway. We will question him to know more details of this illegal trade and his network,” said Goel.

Despite repeated calls and messages, Kataria’s manager did not respond seeking a comment.

Kataria has a history of brushes with the law. In September 2022, he was arrested by Delhi Police for smoking inside an aeroplane. The same year, in August, a Dehradun court issued a non-bailable warrant against him after the influencer shared a video in which he was seen drinking in public and blocking a road. The case is currently pending before court.

Also in August 2022, the Gurugram police had booked Kataria for thrashing a woman and posting vulgar messages about her on social media. That case too is pending before court.

Goel said in February 2023, Kataria started a consultancy business through which he would provide employment to people seeking jobs abroad. Kumar, one of the victims, said he used to follow Kataria on social media platforms, and saw a post about a job in UAE.

“I contacted him on the given number and he called me to his office in Conscient-One mall, Sector 109 on February 1. He gave me assurance of getting a job in UAE and asked to pay ₹2000 as registration charges. After transferring the amount, he sent me a ticket to Vientiane through his agent Shokeen. On March 28, as per the instructions of Kataria, I exchanged ₹50,000 to US dollars at the airport and boarded the Vientiane flight,” Kumar said, adding that Tomar followed a similar process and boarded the same flight.

Upon reaching Vientiane, Kumar said, they met a person who identified himself as Abhi, along with a Pakistani agent, who dropped them off at a hotel.

“The next day, Abhi booked train tickets and made us sit in the train to Navtui, where we met a person named Ankit Shokeen and Nitish Sharma alias Rocky, who took us to an office. As soon as we stepped inside, they attacked us and grabbed our passports. They coerced us into participating in cyber fraud schemes targeting Americans. Fearing for our safety and unable to resist their intimidation, we reluctantly acquiesced to their demands,” he said.

“For two days we worked there as they threatened to kill us but on the third day, seeing the opportunity, we both ran away from there and returned to India through the Indian embassy. After coming back, when we asked Kataria to return our money, he refused and threatened us, following which we approached police,” said Kumar.