Weeks after the arrest of a travel vlogger for allegedly spying for Pakistan, the Punjab Police have unearthed an espionage network linked to another YouTuber. Jasbir Singh runs a YouTube channel named 'JaanMahal video' and has over a million subscribers. He allegedly passed on information on Indian forces' movement to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), said police. He was arrested in Rupnagar by the Punjab Police's State Special Operations Cell.
Singh was allegedly in contact with an ISI officer named Shakir, alias Jutt Randhawa, who was part of a terror-backed spying network, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
The accused also had close relations with Jyoti Malhotra, the YouTuber from Haryana who was arrested on May 15, and Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani national and Pakistan High Commission official who was expelled from the country, he said.
He had visited Pakistan thrice, and several Pakistani numbers were found on his devices, which are now under forensic probe. He had also attended the Pakistan National Day program held at the Pakistani Embassy in Delhi on Danish's invitation.
After Jyoti Malhotra's arrest, Singh tried to erase the traces of his communications with Pakistani officials to avoid detection, said DGP Yadav.
A day earlier, a resident of Tarn Taran was arrested by the Punjab Police for allegedly sharing sensitive information over army movements during Operation Sindoor. He was identified as Gagandeep Singh and had received payments from foreign operatives, police said.
Earlier Arrests
Malhotra ran a channel named 'Travel with Jo' and had visited Pakistan at least three times, during which she came into contact with Pakistani officials. She was in touch with four Pakistani intelligence agents, sources had said.
The police have found some conversations that appeared to establish the Pakistani links of Malhotra, including a WhatsApp chat in which the 33-year-old YouTuber was purportedly seen asking an ISI handler to get her married in Pakistan.
She now faces charges under the Official Secrets Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita penalising acts that endanger India's unity, sovereignty, and integrity.
They are among the dozen-odd people who have been arrested on spying charges across the country amid heightened surveillance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India-Pakistan tensions.
Others facing spying charges include a student from Patiala's Khalsa College, Davendra Singh Dhillon. The 25-year-old was arrested in Haryana after he uploaded photos of a pistol on Facebook, and his Pakistan links emerged during his questioning.
He had allegedly shared sensitive information, including pictures of the Patiala military cantonment, with ISI's agents.
Nauman Ilahi, a 24-year-old security guard in Haryana, was found to be in touch with an ISI handler in Pakistan, and used to receive money in the account of his brother-in-law.
