Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 4: The Pakistan espionage racket seems to be running much wider and much deeper than it was initially believed. The police so far have arrested at least 19 Indians from different parts of the country for passing on classified information to sources in Pakistan at different stages and more arrests are likely.
A YouTuber in Punjab’s Rupnagar, Jasbir Singh, was arrested in Mohali on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in a Pakistani espionage network, officials said on Wednesday. The network was unearthed by the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Mohali.
Singh, who operates a YouTube channel called ‘Jaan Mahal’, is a resident of Mahlan village. He was produced in a Mohali court, which remanded him to police custody for three days.
As he was being escorted into court, Singh briefly spoke to reporters, saying, “Truth will prevail.”
According to the police, Singh is associated with Pakistani intelligence operative (PIO) Shakir alias Jutt Randhawa, who is part of a terror-backed espionage network. Singh allegedly also maintained close contact with Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra who was arrested from Hisar on charges of spying, and Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an expelled Pakistani High Commission official.
Investigations have revealed that Singh attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani Army officials and vloggers, the police said. He travelled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021, 2024), and his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, now under detailed forensic scrutiny, the police added.
After Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest, Jasbir Singh attempted to delete all digital traces of his communication with foreign handlers, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday. An FIR has been registered at the State Special Operation Cell in Mohali. “Investigations are underway to dismantle the broader espionage-terror network and identify all collaborators, he added. Singh has been booked under the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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Singh’s arrest follows the arrest of Jyoti Malhotra, who was taken into custody after she was allegedly found sharing “sensitive information” with Danish. Malhotra has a YouTube channel called ‘Travel with Jo’ and allegedly visited Pakistan multiple times, according to the police.
Jyoti Malhotra, a 33-year-old Hisar native, runs a YouTube channel ‘Travel with JO’. She was arrested last month. On May 13, India expelled Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, who was posted at the Pakistan high commission, for allegedly indulging in espionage. The action on spy networks within the country comes in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead and the four-day military conflict with Pakistan that followed.
The police said Jasbir Singh was under scanner for alleged ties to Pakistani espionage network, raising concerns on his activities on channel Jaan Mahal. Singh makes daily vlogs on travelling and his daily life. According to the bio of his YouTube channel, he aims to give meaningful information to the viewers about Punjab and its culture.
He started the YouTube channel in 2008 and till now has posted 2,985 videos with 1.1M subscribers. Among the videos on his channel are his visits to the Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia and Jammu and Kashmir. Based on actionable intelligence, State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Mohali found Jasbir Singh to be associated with PIO Shakir alias Jutt Randhawa, who is a part of a terror-backed espionage network.
On his YouTube channel, he has posted a video of visiting Pakistan on multiple occasions. The latest video of Pakistan was published in April 2024, where he visited the Nankana Sahib and explored Lahore. Further, according to police, his electronic device contained contacts of multiple Pakistan-based numbers.
Besides Jasbir Singh several others arrested allegedly for spying for Pakistan included Jyoti Malhotra from Haryana, Priyanka Senapati from Odisha for being in contact with Jyoti Malhotra, Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh, both from Punjab for leaking sensitive information about Operation Sindoor to ISI handlers,
Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih from Punjab, for leaking sensitive information and photos about Army cantonment areas and air bases to ISI handlers, Guzala and Yameen Mohamad both Punjab, for leaking classified information in exchange for payments, Nauman Ilahi
(Haryana) for leaking sensitive information to some individuals in Pakistan, Devender Singh
(Haryana) for uploading photos on social media with weapons and for links with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives, Armaan (Haryana) for leaking military information through an employee posted at the High Commission of Pakistan, Mohammad Tarif (Haryana), for leaking information and confessing to giving a SIM card to a Pakistan High Commission employee, Shahzad (Punjab) for involvement in cross-border smuggling and espionage for the ISI, Kasim (Rajasthan), who supplied SIMs for Pakistani Intelligence Operatives for espionage, Shakur Khan (Rajasthan), a government employee at the District Employment Office, shared security related updates to Pakistani contacts on his phone, and Palak Sher Masih (Punjab) for leaking sensitive information and photographs of army cantonment areas and air bases in Amritsar.
