Friday, 26 August 2022, | PNS | Dehradun
The Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar has directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Dehradun, Daleep Singh Kunwar to declare a bounty of Rs 25,000 on absconding social media influencer Bobby Kataria. The police had earlier filed a case against Kataria on the direction of the DGP after his video of pouring and consuming alcohol in the middle of a public road in Dehradun went viral last month.
Kataria is a Haryana resident with lakhs of followers on social media platforms. In the said video, he can be allegedly seen pouring alcohol by placing a table and chair in the middle of a public road in Dehradun by blocking traffic. After the DGP directed the police to start an investigation on the matter, Kataria stated in one of his Facebook posts on August 10 that he made that video for entertainment and does not remember where he shot it while adding that his lawyer will soon submit a representation to the police on his behalf. However, a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him last week after he failed to appear before the police.
A police team has also been sent to Gurugram in Haryana to arrest Kataria but has not been able to nab him so far. Kataria was also likely to surrender at the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Dehradun earlier this week and the police personnel could be noticed outside the court to nab him as soon as he appeared but he is yet to present himself before the court or police. Talking about the delay in the arrest of the absconding social media influencer, the DGP said that police are making all possible legal efforts to nab him. “An FIR has been filed against him and warrants have been issued for his arrest. The police will declare a bounty on his head and will approach the court to start proceedings under Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The accused will be arrested soon,” said the DGP.
