Punjab Spying Arrests: Rani was arrested from New Aggarwal Extension area of Hisar district and booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act.
The 33-year-old travel vlogger from Haryana named Jyoti Rani Malhotra was arrested in relation to allegation of spying for Pakistan agencies, and Indian intelligence agencies had her in their sights for some time, according to the prosecutors.
Sucharita said that they have been keeping a close watch on her traveling and that she was arrested based on the central agency intelligence; she has been booked on a five-day police custody remand.
Punjab Spying Arrests: Key Details on the Latest Crackdown
With over 3,77,000 subscribers and 1,32,000 Instagram followers, Malhotra was detained after being caught allegedly sharing “sensitive information” with an official from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, according to the police.
“She has made multiple visits to Pakistan as well as into China once. We are tracing her financial transactions and her travel details. She was in touch with PIOs [Pakistan Intelligence Operatives]. Direct access, though, she did not have to military and defence information, but Hisar is a strategic location,” said the SP.
The police further alleged that she maybe ended up in a trap for views and likes and, her travel details show more expenses than her known sources of income.
“Inflated with followers and likes, they (influencers) would be caught in such traps. They don’t know the ramifications at national and international levels,” said the SP from Hisar.
“We are trying to seize her laptop and mobile. Forensic analysis will clear things such as what she shared.” He said, “We are investigating who helped her and how she made contact with PIOs and the Pakistan embassy. A team of cyber experts are mostly looking into her social media accounts.”
The SP also stated: “Modern warfare is not only on borders. This is also warfare when they recruit influencers and try to push their narrative.”
Rani was apprehended from the New Aggarwal Extension area of Hisar district and was charged under Sections 3 and 5, Official Secrets Act, and Section 152 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (acts prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India). She is also being grilled by the intelligence agencies.
Police said that during early interrogation, she allegedly revealed that in 2023 she had “gone to Pakistan High Commission for getting a visitor visa.” This is where she allegedly came in touch with the Pakistan High Commission official from New Delhi, Ehsan-ur-Rahim, who uses the alias Danish. They “remained in contact,” police said.
According to the police, on May 13, the Danish government was declared persona non grata in India after charges of espionage. He was also asked to leave India immediately.
According to Jyoti’s father, Harish Malhotra, she worked in Delhi before the lock-down for the Covid at a monthly salary of Rs 20,000. “After the lockdown, she returned to Hisar and started shooting some videos,” he said.
Punjab continues its crackdown
Two men were arrested inform of Monday for communicating sensitive military information to Pakistan’s ISI, said DGP Gaurav Yadav. This makes the total figure six arrests in Punjab.
Intelligence inputs came to the knowledge of the police on May 15 according to the DGP, which indicated that the accused were sharing classified information related to Operation Sindoor and troop movement and key strategic locations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir with the ISI. The accused in the case were Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh.
“Two accused persons were arrested by police in a quick grasp of the situation. Mobile forensic examinations confirmed the inputs of the intelligence sources Policemen have recovered three mobile phones and eight live cartridges (30 bore) from their possession,” Yadav said.
The DGP said that preliminary inquiries suggested that the accused were allegedly in direct contact with ISI handlers and they were passing on information regarding the Indian armed forces.
Yadav said that Punjab Police had maintained a state of alert following close coordination with the central intelligence agencies as a consequence of which several persons allegedly passing on sensitive information to Pakistani handlers have been arrested.
According to the police, these suspects were also part of a network nurtured by Pakistan High Commission staffer Danish, which began coming to light after two arrests were made by the police in Malerkotla earlier this month.
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