Vlogger among 10 arrested in India on espionage charges for Pakistan

NEW DELHI: At least 10 individuals, including a female vlogger, have been arrested across India on charges of espionage for Pakistan, according to Indian media reports.

The arrests were made in the states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

Among those detained is 33-year-old travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra from Hisar, Haryana, who runs the YouTube channel Travel with JO.

She had travelled to Pakistan in March this year. Police registered an FIR against her and presented her before a local court, which sent her to a five-day police remand. She has been booked under the Official Secrets Act.

Other individuals arrested include Davendra Singh Dhillon, 25, a political science student at Khalsa College in Patiala, accused of sharing sensitive information, including photographs of the Patiala military cantonment.

Nauman Ilahi, 24, a security guard from Panipat, Haryana, arrested a few days ago. Arman, 23, apprehended in Nuh, Haryana, on May 16 based on intelligence inputs.

Shahzad, a businessman from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) in Moradabad. Mohammad Murtaza Ali, detained during a police raid in Jalandhar, Punjab.

Gazala and Yamin Mohammad, both arrested in Punjab on similar charges. In Uttarakhand, Raqeeb Khan from Roorkee, who had been working as a tailor at a shop inside the Bathinda Cantonment for two years, was arrested by Punjab Police for alleged espionage activities.

On April 29, Sunil Kumar, a cobbler from Samastipur, Bihar, was arrested. He had been employed at Bathinda Cantonment since 2017 and resided in Dhobiana Basti.

Additionally, Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih were arrested in Amritsar for allegedly taking photographs and sharing sensitive details of Army cantonments and airbases.