'Influencing gone wrong'; After Jyoti Malhotra, Odisha vlogger under lens

NEW DELHI: Central investigative agencies are on a furtive mission to trap influencers who worked as spies for neighbouring Pakistan. The action comes in the backdrop of reports of leaking military secrets during Operation Sindoor.

Ten people who aided in the terrorist act have already been arrested. The action is being taken in collaboration with the police of the respective states.

Pakistan has used social media as an espionage tool and even succeeded in luring Indian influencers to work for them. This came to light after the interrogation of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested the other day.

It is reported that Malhotra also persuaded a few other Indian vloggers to assist in the espionage work for Pakistan. A female vlogger from Puri, Odisha is also under surveillance. The Hisar police, who are questioning Jyoti, have revealed that the Pakistani spy agency has directly contacted many vloggers. The police are examining Jyoti's devices including her mobile phone and bank transactions.

# Punjab Police arrested Gusala (31) and her aide Yameen Muhammad from Malerkotla

#Security guard Nauman Elahi (24) from Panipat, Haryana

#Raqeeb Khan, a native of Roorkee, Uttarakhand, who works as a tailor in a shop inside Bhatinda Cantonment, Punjab,

# Sunil Kumar, a shoemaker from Samastipur, Bihar, arrested in Bhatinda

# Devendra Singh Dhillon, a native of Punjab and a student of Political Science at Patiala Khalsa College.

# Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih were arrested in Amritsar.

# Harpreet Singh alias Happy, a prisoner in Amritsar Central Jail, linked all of them to the ISI.

• When Jyoti visited the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to arrange a visa to travel to Pakistan in 2023, she met Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rahim, an officer expelled by India.

• Jyothi’s visit to Pakistan only made her relationship close with ISI. Her further visits to China and Indonesia were sponsored by them. She visited Pakistan four times. She then contacted Pakistani handlers she met through WhatsApp, and Telegram and exchanged crucial information. She went to Bali, with one of the ISI officers.

• Jyoti used to frequent the Pakistan Embassy's Iftar parties in Delhi. A video posted by Jyoti after attending the Iftar party on March 28, Pakistan's National Day, shows how candid she was with Pakistani officials.