YouTuber Jasbir Singh, a native of Rupnagar in Punjab, was arrested by police on Wednesday for suspected links with Pakistan’s spy agency. Jasbir Singh, whose YouTube channel “Jaan Mahal” has over 1.1 million subscribers, maintained close contact with Haryana-based influencer Jyoti Malhotra. The arrest of the woman vlogger for her alleged links to an anti-India espionage network had shocked the nation. After Malhotra's arrest, Singh allegedly attempted to erase all traces of his communications with Islamabad’s agents, police said.
It was sleuths from the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Mohali, who reportedly picked up Singh who is said to have visited Pakistan in 2020, 2021, and 2024. Jasbir Singh, who hails from Mahlan in Rupnagar district, maintained contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani national who was expelled as an official of the Pakistan High Commission. He was also in touch with a Pakistan Intelligence Officer (PIO) named Jutt Randhawa, according to the Punjab Police.
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“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,” a police official stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
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 traveled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021, and 2024), and his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, which are now under detailed forensic scrutiny.
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,” the official added.
Electronic gadgets in his possession has several Pakistan-based contact numbers, which are being cross-checked, a report said. Jasbir Singh attended the Pakistan National Day celebration at the Pakistani Embassy in Delhi on Danish's invitation, reports quoted the investigators as saying. During this interaction, he met and chatted with Pakistani Army personnel and vloggers.
The 33-year-old Hisar native, Malhotra, who was running a YouTube channel titled 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.
The action against spy networks within the country follows the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people dead and the four-day military conflict with Pakistan that ensued.