Ex-Pakistan Cop Mastermind Of Cross-Border Spy Ring, Says Arrested YouTuber
New Delhi:
Ex-Pakistan Cop Mastermind Of Cross-Border Spy Ring, Says Arrested YouTuber
A former sub-inspector from the Pakistan Police ranks was among the masterminds of a cross-border espionage racket, which various Indians have been found to be a part of.
Punjab YouTuber Jasbir Singh, who was arrested earlier this week for allegedly spying for Pakistan, disclosed during interrogation that the former cop Nasir Dhillon had introduced him to Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) officials in Lahore. He had also arranged Jasbir Singh's meeting with ISI operative Danish in Pakistan.
Nasir Dhillon, who is now a YouTuber, used to connect Indian social media personalities with ISI operative Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rehman, who worked as a visa officer in the Pakistani embassy in Delhi. Danish was expelled from India in May, after travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra was exposed for spying for the country with whom ties have plummeted since the April 22 Pahalgam attack and May 7 Operation Sindoor strikes.
Both Jasbir Singh and Nasir Dhillon know Jyoti Malhotra, who runs the travel YouTube account 'Travel With Jo', and was among the first of spies in the alleged Islamabad-run espionage ring to be arrested.
Further, police have found that Danish used to call the spies as guests to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi and assign tasks.
Security agencies also suspect that hundreds of former police personnel of Pakistan Police are part of the espionage racket, which targets Indian YouTubers.
Jasbir Singh, who runs a YouTube channel named 'JaanMahal video' and has over a million subscribers, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly passing on information on Indian forces' movement to the ISI. He was allegedly in contact with an ISI officer named Shakir, alias Jutt Randhawa, who was part of a terror-backed spying network, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
He had visited Pakistan thrice, and several Pakistani numbers were found on his devices, which are now under forensic probe. He had also attended the Pakistan National Day program held at the Pakistani Embassy in Delhi on Danish's invitation.
After Jyoti Malhotra's arrest, Jasbir Singh tried to erase the traces of his communications with Pakistani officials to avoid detection, said DGP Yadav.
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 found to be in touch with an ISI handler in Pakistan, and used to receive money in the account of his brother-in-law.
A 28-year-old health worker from Gujarat Sahdev Singh Gohil was arrested for transmitting sensitive information related to Indian military infrastructure to a Pakistani operative. Arman, 23, and Tarif, both from Haryana's Nuh district, were arrested within days of each other. Tarif was caught trying to delete chats with Pakistani numbers when police arrived at his residence.
Shakur Khan, a Rajasthan government employee from Jaisalmer, was also arrested on spying charges.
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