Ropar YouTuber held for spying, had visited Pak with Hisar vlogger

The police have arrested a Ropar-based YouTuber for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and sharing sensitive information with them.

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Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the suspect had been identified as Jasbir Singh, alias Jaan Mahal, a resident of Mahlan village in Ropar. He was produced in a Mohali court this afternoon and was remanded in three-day police custody.

Jasbir operates a YouTube channel, “JaanMahal Video,” with over 11 lakh subscribers, ostensibly posting travel and cooking vlogs. Police investigation revealed his association with Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO) Shakir, alias Jutt Randhawa, part of a terror-backed espionage network. He also maintained close contact with Hisar YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, previously arrested for spying by the Haryana Police, and Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a Pakistani national and expelled Pakistan High Commission official.

The police claimed that Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani army officials and vloggers. The accused had travelled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021 and 2024) and came into direct contact with ISI officers, who subsequently recruited him to carry out espionage activities. Following Jyoti’s arrest, Jasbir allegedly attempted to erase all traces of his communications with these PIOs to avoid detection, the probe revealed.

The police further claimed they received reliable input that Jasbir was in touch with multiple Pakistan-based entities, including ISI agents, and had been providing sensitive information about the Indian Army’s movements to Pakistan. Around 150 Pakistan-based contacts, including phone numbers of ISI agents, Pakistan High Commission officials and other entities, have been retrieved from his phone. The suspect has deleted crucial digital evidence, including chats, contact records and documents exchanged with Pakistani intelligence handlers,” AIG Ravjot Grewal said, adding that technical recovery and forensic examination were underway to retrieve the deleted data and assess the extent of leaked information.

A case was registered under Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act at the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) police station in Mohali on June 3.