YouTuber Held For Spying Sent To 5-Day Police Remand

A travel vlogger and youtuber who was arrested by the Haryana Police on suspicion of spying for Pakistan, was sent to five days of police remand by a local court, officials said.

According to police, “suspicious things” were found after the police recovered her laptop and mobile. Additionally, The Deputy Superintendent of Hisar, Kamaljeet said that the vlogger was in “continuous contact” with a Pakistani citizen.

“Yesterday, based on inputs that we had, we arrested Jyoti, daughter of Haris Kumar, under the Official Secret Act and BNS 152. We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. We have taken her on a five-day remand, and further investigation is on. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen,” DSP Kamaljeet said in a self-made video on Saturday.

Apart from Official Secrets Act, Jyoti is being held under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 152, which is regarding acts endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Earlier, Jyoti was interrogated for allegedly sharing sensitive information to Pakistan. According to police, she also allegedly met with a Pakistani officer Ahsan-ur-Rahim in Delhi, and travelled to Pakistan twice.

During the preliminary investigation, the police said that the woman told that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. She had allegedly told the police that Rahim had arranged for her stay and travel, while also arranging meetings with Pakistani security and intelligence agencies.

However, the father of Jyoti has said that she had travelled to Pakistan multiple times after acquiring the necessary permission.

“She made YouTube videos. She used to visit Pakistan and other places,” the father told ANI.

When asked about how many times she had visited Pakistan, Malhotra said he did not know.

He said police first came to their house on Thursday and took their bank documents, phone, laptop, and passport.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Haryana’s Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapoor addressed the arrest of multiple suspected spies in districts of Panipat, Kaithal, and Hisar. He credited the police’s “increased vigilance” for such arrests.

In a statement to the media, Kapoor underlined that the suspected spies had been active for some time, but their activities were exposed due to the intensified monitoring and improved intelligence-sharing mechanisms.

“After the Operation Sindoor and the major incident in Pahalgam, the situation that developed led to the exposure of such individuals. It’s not that they weren’t active before; they were working earlier as well, but now these people have been caught. This is also a result of the increased vigilance, and the heightened surveillance has led to better information reaching our intelligence agencies,” Kapoor said.

He further added that the atmosphere, resembling that of a war, has led to an uptick in such activities. However, the state police and intelligence agencies have been quick to respond. (ANI)