CHANDIGARH: A widening espionage net has led to 10 arrests across Haryana and Punjab in just over two weeks, with the latest being Hisar-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was held for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Sources said Jyoti Malhotra, who runs a YouTube channel called Travel with Jo, was arrested from the New Aggarwal Extension area in Hisar. She has 3.77 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 1.32 lakh followers on Instagram, and has also posted videos about her travel to Pakistan in March this year.
The Hisar Police registered an FIR and produced her before a local court, which sent her to a five-day police remand. She has been booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Bijender Singh at the Civil Lines Police Station.
According to the FIR, Malhotra came into contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. She visited Pakistan twice in 2023, and Danish allegedly acted as her handler, introducing her to ISI operatives and maintaining regular contact via encrypted platforms.
“She revealed that during her visit to Pakistan in 2023, she met Ali Ehwan, who arranged her stay and travel. Ehwan introduced her to Pakistani security and intelligence officials, including Shakir and Rana Shahbaz,” the FIR stated.
Hisar Police spokesperson Vikas Kumar confirmed her arrest, saying officials are questioning her for further details. Danish was declared persona non grata by the Indian government and expelled on May 13.
According to sources, Arman, a resident of Nuh, was arrested by Haryana Police on Thursday based on secret inputs. He allegedly shared information with Danish, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission. A case has been registered.
Earlier, in a separate case, a 24-year-old youth, Nauman Ilahi from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, who worked as a factory security guard, was arrested in Panipat for allegedly supplying sensitive information to ISI operatives. He was staying with his sister Zeenat and brother-in-law Irfan in Hali Colony, Panipat.
On May 12, Devender Singh, 25, from the Guhla area in Haryana's Kaithal district, was arrested for uploading photos with weapons on social media. Singh, pursuing a master’s degree in political science from a college in Punjab, had visited Nankana Sahib in Pakistan last year. During that visit, he allegedly came into contact with Pakistani intelligence officials and remained in touch after returning to India.
A senior police officer claimed that Singh admitted to taking and sending photographs of the Patiala Cantonment from outside.
On May 13, Raqeeb Khan of Roorkee, Uttarakhand, working as a tailor at a shop inside Bathinda Cantonment for two years, was arrested by Punjab Police for alleged espionage. Suspicious activity was reported by cantonment officials, and his phone has been sent for forensic analysis.
He is the second civilian from the area to be linked to spying. On April 29, Sunil Kumar, a cobbler from Samastipur, Bihar, was arrested. He had been working in Bathinda Cantonment since 2017 and residing in Dhobiana Basti. His brother and uncle are also cobblers in the same area. Police are analysing his bank and property records, and his phone is under forensic examination.
On May 11, Punjab Police arrested two individuals, a 31-year-old woman, Guzala and her associate, Yameen Mohammad from Malerkotla, for allegedly assisting a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission in Delhi. Police believe the two were part of a broader espionage network.
Earlier, on May 3, two men, Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, were arrested in Amritsar for allegedly taking photographs and sharing sensitive details of Army cantonments and airbases. They were reportedly in contact with ISI through Harpreet Singh alias Pittu alias Happy, an inmate at Amritsar Central Jail.
Police sources say all nine individuals were allegedly in frequent contact with the ISI and actively passed sensitive information to Pakistani handlers.