Jyoti Malhotra, the travel vlogger from Haryana who was arrested on charges of espionage, visited Pakistan for the first time in April 2023 in the garb of attending the 324th Vaisakhi festival, according to an Intelligence Bureau report accessed by India Today TV. Malhotra made two subsequent visits to Pakistan and China, the report said. The Gurudwara Committees organise the Vaisakhi festival as a pilgrimage to the holy Sikh sites in Pakistan. According to the report, during her first trip to Pakistan, she also visited Lahore. Malhotra made her second visit to Pakistan the next year, again during the Vaisakhi festival. This time she overstayed for a month, i.e. from April 17 to May 25, 2024. Following her second visit to Pakistan, she allegedly visited China as her next destination. The YouTuber also visited other neighbouring countries, including Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The list of countries visited by her also includes the United Arab Emirates, where she visited Dubai, and Thailand and Indonesia, the report said. Interestingly, she made a visit to Kashmir in November 2024, while her last visit to Pakistan was in March this year, as per the IB report. Malhotra was arrested on May 15 for allegedly passing on sensitive information to Pakistani operatives. She allegedly shared crucial information about Indian locations and was actively used to project a positive image of Pakistan on social media.
As per sources, she was asked to push the pro-Pakistani narrative, which is a new form of warfare. She was allegedly given some other tasks which are being investigated. Apart from the narrative push, the police are also looking at if Malhotra had passed on sensitive military or non-military asset information. The YouTuber was charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Her bank account details and electronic devices have been seized.
Apart from Malhotra, 10 other Indian nationals have been arrested in the past three days for allegedly passing on sensitive information to Pakistani operatives. The network spanned majorly across Haryana and Punjab, with key operatives acting as agents, financial conduits and informants.
A businessman in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur has been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, the police said on Sunday. The accused, Shahzad, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force (STF) from Moradabad following inputs about his alleged involvement in cross-border smuggling and espionage activities for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He was also passing sensitive information related to national security to his handlers, the STF said in a statement. Shahzad had travelled to Pakistan multiple times over the years and was allegedly smuggling cosmetics, clothes, spices, and other items across the border, the agency said. His illegal trade served as a cover for conducting his covert operations for the ISI, the STF said. The investigation also revealed that Shahzad used to provide money and Indian SIM cards to the ISI agents in India. The STF claimed he also used to send people from the Rampur district and other parts of Uttar Pradesh to Pakistan to work for the ISI.
25-year-old Devendra reportedly praised the country in conversation with his friends, after returning from Pakistan. He is a first-year MA student (political science) at Khalsa College in Patiala. He came in contact with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, some time ago and began spying against India. His family resides in Mastgarh village and is involved in farming. On May 12, he was arrested in Haryana’s Kaithal for uploading photos of a pistol and guns on Facebook. It emerged during his questioning that he had visited Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan in 2024 and had shared sensitive information with the officers of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, including pictures of the Patiala military cantonment.
Tarif, son of Hanif, was arrested from Kangarka village in the Taudu subdivision of Haryana’s Nuh district. Haryana Police, along with central intelligence agencies, nabbed him in a major operation against a Pakistani spy network in India.
23-year-old Arman was arrested in Haryana’s Nuh on May 16 based on the intelligence inputs from Rajaka village. The police said that he was found passing sensitive information to Pakistan during the heightened tensions between the two nations.
24-year-old Nauman Ilahi, who worked as a security guard in Haryana, was arrested in Panipat. Reports suggest he was in touch with an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handler in Pakistan. The resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana used to receive money from Pakistan in the account of his brother-in-law for supplying information to Islamabad.
Mohd Murtaza Ali was arrested during a raid by the Gujarat Police in Punjab’s Jalandhar. His arrest followed intelligence inputs that he was spying for Pakistan’s ISI. Reports suggest he did so through a mobile app that he had developed himself. Four mobile phones and three SIM cards were found with him.
A woman from Punjab, Gazala, was allegedly used to transfer funds to Pakistan. Gazala is a resident of Malerkotla, Punjab. The espionage network came to light after sustained surveillance and interrogation. Apart from vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, the police have arrested Yamin Mohammad from Punjab. Police suspect that he was recruited for different roles within the spying network.
Punjab Police arrested Sukhpreet Singh from Gurdaspur on charges of espionage for Pakistan. A case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act at the Dorangla Police Station in Gurdaspur, and a detailed investigation is currently underway.
Punjab Police arrested Karanbir Singh from Gurdaspur. Preliminary findings establish that the accused were in direct contact with ISI handlers and had transmitted critical information concerning the Indian Armed Forces. FIR has been registered under the Official Secrets Act at PS Dorangala. The investigation continues, and more disclosures are expected as the probe deepens.
