12 alleged spies held in Punjab, Haryana, UP

Chandigarh/Lucknow: At least 12 people, including a YouTuber, have been nabbed from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh on charges of espionage over the last two weeks, with investigations pointing to an alleged Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India, police said. While six of them have been held from Punjab, five were nabbed from neighbouring Haryana, and one from Uttar Pradesh.

The arrests took place in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India's Operation Sindoor, officials said. Among those arrested, two women -- YouTuber from Haryana Jyoti Malhotra, whose YouTube channel and Instagram accounts have 3.77 lakh subscribers and 1.33 lakh followers, and 31-year-old Guzala from Punjab -- were allegedly in touch with Pakistani officer Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.