Another YouTuber held for being ‘Pak spy’; had close links with Jyoti, say cops

A Punjab-based YouTuber who maintained close contact with Haryana-based influencer Jyoti Malhotra has been arrested, with police saying they have unearthed an espionage network linked to him.

Jasbir Singh, a resident of Village Mahlan in Rupnagar district, who operates a YouTube channel “Jaan Mahal”, was found to be associated with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO), Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav claimed on Wednesday (June 4).

He was also in close contact with Malhotra, who was earlier arrested by Haryana Police on charges of espionage.

Allegations against YouTuber

“Jasbir Singh, who operates a YouTube channel called ‘Jaan Mahal’, has been found associated with PIO Shakir alias Jutt Randhawa, part of a terror-backed espionage network,” he said in a post on X.

He also maintained contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani national who was expelled as an official of the Pakistan High Commission, Yadav posted.

“Investigations have revealed that Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani Army officials and vloggers. He travelled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021, 2024), and his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, now under detailed forensic scrutiny,” he added.

Also read: Pakistan planned 48-hour operation against India, but it folded up in 8 hrs: CDS

Connection with Jyoti Malhotra

After Malhotra’s arrest, Singh tried to erase all traces of his communications with the PIOs to avoid detection, Yadav said.

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.

The 33-year-old Hisar native Malhotra, who was running a YouTube channel “Travel with JO”, 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.

Tuesday’s arrests

Jasbir’s arrest comes within a day of three persons, including a government employee and a police constable, being arrested from Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab on Tuesday, on alleged charges of spying and passing sensitive information to their Pakistani handlers.

Rajasthan government employee Shakur Khan, an Assistant Administrative Officer (AAO) posted at the Jaisalmer employment office, who was earlier detained on charges of espionage for Pakistan, was arrested on Tuesday.

Police said Khan was under the surveillance of security agencies for weeks during which his links to some Pakistan High Commission officials came to light.

Also Read: 'Spent 90 days in Pak, met ISI officials': Delhi Police arrest Rajasthan man for espionage

Travelled to Pakistan

During monitoring, security agencies discovered that he was in regular contact with individuals linked to the Pakistan High Commission, particularly Danish and Sohail Qamar, Inspector General (CID-Security) Vishnu Kant Gupta said.

“Khan was taken into custody for questioning a few days ago and was interrogated extensively at the central interrogation facility in Jaipur by multiple intelligence agencies,” Gupta said in a statement as quoted by PTI.

He further revealed that Khan got Pakistani visas several times and had travelled to the neighbouring country, allegedly with the assistance of Danish. Investigation revealed that during his visit to Pakistan, Khan came into contact with ISI agents and allegedly shared sensitive information with them through messaging platforms like WhatsApp.

Also Read: NIA arrests CRPF personnel for spying for Pakistan

Case lodged

Gupta noted that the case constitutes a serious security breach under the Official Secrets Act, 1923. “A case has been registered, and Khan has been arrested under relevant sections of the Act,” he said.

A PTI report stated that while police declined to comment on Khan's alleged political links, sources said he had previously worked as a personal assistant (PA) to former Congress minister Shale Mohammad, a development that recently sparked political controversy.

J-K cop arrested for being a mole

In Jammu and Kashmir, a police constable, Malik Ishfaq Naseer, recruited in 2007, was dismissed from service along with two other government employees, for allegedly acting as a “mole” and helping his Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handlers.

“He used his position to identify safe drop locations for arms, explosives, and narcotics, and shared GPS coordinates with Pakistani handlers,” a senior security official said.

Naseer’s brother Malik Asif was a Pakistan-trained LeT militant and was killed in 2018, but he allegedly continued to support the outfit while serving in the police, he added.

He further revealed that Naseer was also collecting and distributing arms among terrorists in the Jammu region. “He was not only identifying the safe location, sharing the coordinates with LeT handlers in Pakistan but he was also collecting and distributing arms and ammunition to terrorists in the Jammu and Kashmir region enabling them to carry out terrorist attacks on security forces and civilians,” the official said as quoted by PTI.

Also Read: Gujarat ATS arrests health worker for ‘sharing sensitive info with Pak spy’

Two other govt staffers sacked in J-K

Apart from Naseer, two other government employees, Ajaz Ahmed, a teacher in the school education department and Waseem Ahmad Khan, a junior assistant at Government Medical College, Srinagar, were also terminated on Tuesday.

Ajaz Ahmed, who joined the Education Department in 2011, was found smuggling arms, ammunition, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen propaganda material. He was arrested during a routine police check in November 2023.

According to the probe, the arms were meant for militants operating in Kashmir, sent by his handler Abid Ramzan Sheikh, a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operative based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Also Read: UP ATS arrests Varanasi man for allegedly spying for Pakistan

Terror associate

Ajaz Ahmed was allegedly involved in such activities for several years and he became a trusted terror associate of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in the Poonch region.

Waseem Ahmad Khan was allegedly found to be part of a terror plot that led to the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his security personnel in June 2018, the officer said.

The officer said Khan was associated with both LeT and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and provided logistical support for the attack on the journalist. He allegedly accompanied the terrorists and helped them escape after the shooting.

He was arrested in August 2018 during investigations into a terror attack in Srinagar’s Batmaloo area.

Man held in Punjab

Earlier on Tuesday, a man from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district was arrested for sharing sensitive information on the Army’s movement with Pakistani intelligence officials. Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said that the accused, Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, was arrested during a joint operation by the Tarn Taran Police and Counter Intelligence wing of police.

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.

(With agency inputs)