In a shocking development, investigators have found a connection between jailed Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and retired Pakistan Police Sub-Inspector Nasir Dhillon! According to sources, Jyoti had direct contact with Dhillon and the duo even featured in a podcast together. The former sub-inspector in Pakistan’s Punjab Police turned YouTuber is being probed for being the mastermind of spy ring in India and promoting the Khalistani propaganda.
Nasir Dhillon met Jyoti during the latter’s visit to Pakistan. Dhillon also runs his own YouTube channel which he started after retiring from the police force. However, the channel is just eyewash; investigators believe Dhillon’s actual business was operating under the directives of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence ISI and military, using his channel and online presence to befriend Indian YouTubers. He was allegedly assigned the responsibility by ISI to extract confidential information related to the Indian Army.
How Dhillon operated for the ISI?
Investigations into Pakistan’s ISI’s latest modus operandi of espionage reveals well-planned efforts to invite, entice, and then co-opt social media influencers through a variety of lures to build a web of informers among the community.
According to investigations, retired Pakistan Police Sub-Inspector Nasir Dhillon used his YouTube channel to win the trust of Indian content creators, and then gradually introduced them to ISI agents, and eventually assign them espionage tasks for Pakistan. He was also connected with another Indian YouTuber named Danish, investigations have revealed.
How Indian social media influencers are lured into espionage by ISI?
Throwing light on how social media influencers are trapped into espionage, a senior official told The Indian Express, “ISI has been using a variety of tools to reach out to social media influencers not only in Punjab but across the country in order to weave an espionage-cum-propaganda network, which works out in favour of Pakistan. The first step is to invite the influencers of various platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X, Snapchat, etc, to the get-togethers of the Pakistan High Commission, and then offer them visas to visit Pakistan.”
Arrested Punjabi YouTuber Jasbir Singh and his connection with Jyoti Malhotra
Earlier this week, Jasbir Singh, a YouTuber from Punjab was arrested for his alleged involvement in an espionage network connected to Pakistani intelligence and terror-linked operatives. Investigators have revealed that Singh maintained close contact with Jyoti Malhotra.
Singh had traveled to Pakistan three times in 2020, 2021, and 2024 and after the recent arrest of another YouTuber, Jyoti Malhotra, Singh is said to have attempted to scrub his digital communications with foreign operatives. Forensic analysis of his devices unearthed multiple contact numbers with Pakistani origins, which are now being scrutinised for further intelligence.
“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,” the Punjab DGP said in a post on X.
Jasbir, a resident of Village Mahlan in Rupnagar district, was found to be associated with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO), revealed Punjab Police. He also maintained contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani national who was expelled as an official of the Pakistan High Commission.
According to Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, a full-scale operation is underway to expose and neutralise the broader espionage ring. In a public statement, he emphasised that Singh’s digital footprints and associations have been logged, and further arrests may follow. The case has attracted the attention of national intelligence agencies including the IB, NIA, and Military Intelligence, all working in coordination to prevent further leaks.
