Social media influencer Balwant Kataria, known as Bobby Kataria, was arrested on Monday on charges of human trafficking involving two youths from Uttar Pradesh, as reported by the police. The case has been filed under section 370 of the IPC at the Bajghera Police Station in Gurugram.

According to the complainants, Arun Kumar from Fatehpur and Manish Tomar from Hapur, who were unemployed, came into contact with Kataria through Instagram. They alleged that they saw an advertisement on Kataria's YouTube channel MBK, offering overseas job opportunities. Subsequently, they reached out to Kataria via WhatsApp, who then asked them to meet at his office in Sector 109 under the pretext of arranging jobs abroad.

On February 1, 2024, the complainants met Kataria at his office and paid ₹ 2,000 for registration. Later, on February 13, they transferred ₹ 50,000 to Kataria's official account registered under MBK Global Visa Private Limited. Additionally, on March 14, another ₹ 1 lakh was transferred to Ankit Shaukeen's account as per Kataria's instructions. Kataria then sent Vientiane (Laos) tickets to the complainants via Shaukeen's WhatsApp.

Upon arrival in Vientiane, they were met by a man named Abhi, who claimed to be Kataria's friend and a Pakistani agent. They were taken to Hotel Mican Son, where they encountered Ankit Shaukeen and Nitish Sharma alias Rocky. Subsequently, they were coerced into committing cyber fraud against US citizens. They were threatened with dire consequences if they failed to comply with the instructions.

The victims also reported severe beatings and passport confiscation by unidentified individuals associated with a Chinese company. Both victims were terrified and felt trapped in the situation.

The case sheds light on the dark underbelly of online exploitation and serves as a reminder of the risks associated with blind trust in online influencers promising lucrative opportunities.