Another YouTuber arrested for 'spying'

Weeks after the arrest of travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra 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 was arrested in Rupnagar by the Punjab Police's State Special Operations Cell.

Singh was allegedly in contact with an officer of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence 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.

Investigations have shown that Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani Army officials and vloggers.

The Punjab Police informed that Singh has also traveled to Pakistan on three occasions, once in 2020 and then subsequently in 2021 and in 2024. Meanwhile, it was also found that his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, which are now under detailed forensic examination.

The police stated that following YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest, Singh attempted to erase all traces of his communications with these PIOs to evade detection. An FIR has been registered at the State Special Operations Cell in Mohali in connection to the case.

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.

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. Nauman Ilahi, a 24-year-old security guard in Haryana, was also found to be in touch with an ISI handler in Pakistan and used to receive money in the account of his brother-in-law.