Chandigarh, June 4: After YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, Punjab Police on Wednesday claimed to have unearthed a critical espionage network linked to another YouTuber, Jasbir Singh, a resident of Rupnagar.

Jasbir Singh, who operates a YouTube channel called ‘JaanMahal’, has been found associated with Pakistani intelligence operative Shakir, alias Jutt Randhawa, part of a terror-backed espionage network.

He also maintained close contact with Haryana-based Jyoti Malhotra and Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a Pakistani national and expelled Pakistan High Commission official, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav informed on X.

Investigations have revealed that Jasbir attended the Pakistan National Day event in Delhi on Danish’s invitation, where he met Pakistani army officials and bloggers.

He travelled to Pakistan on three occasions (2020, 2021, 2024), and his electronic devices contained multiple Pakistan-based numbers, now under detailed forensic scrutiny, said the DGP.

After Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest, Jasbir attempted to erase all traces of his communications with these Pakistani intelligence operatives to avoid detection.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered in Mohali, near here. The DGP added that investigations are underway to dismantle the broader espionage-terror network and identify all collaborators.

A day earlier, Counter-Intelligence Punjab, in a joint operation with Tarn Taran police, had arrested a man linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for sharing sensitive information concerning army movements during Operation Sindoor.

The accused was identified as Gagandeep Singh, alias Gagan, a resident of Tarn Taran town.

DGP Yadav had said preliminary investigation has revealed that Gagandeep Singh was in direct contact with Pakistan-based Khalistani supporter Gopal Singh Chawla for past five years, through whom he was introduced to Pakistani intelligence operatives.

Investigations also revealed that the accused had been sharing classified information, including troop deployments, strategic locations, and army movements during Operation Sindoor, posing a serious threat to national security.

The DGP had said police teams have recovered two mobile devices from the possession of the accused, containing sensitive intelligence that he shared with the Pakistani intelligence operatives, as well as the details of over 20 ISI contacts.

The accused also received payments from operatives via Indian channels.

Kolkata, June 4: Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, one of the members of an all-party delegation that visited various countries, will not attend a meeting of the Ministry of External Affairs convened on Thursday.

He said this in Kolkata after returning from abroad. Banerjee was a member of the all-party delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, which is a part of India’s global outreach efforts following Operation Sindoor, a strong military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

The team included MPs from the Janata Dal (United), the BJP, Congress, CPI(M), and Trinamool Congress and visited Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Banerjee said he has already informed the office of the External Affairs Minister about his inability to attend the meeting. Instead, he added, he would write to EAM Jaishankar about his take on the delegation tour’s outcome.

He also said that after giving the written communication to the External Affairs Minister, he would speak on that to the media persons.

“We had toured five countries during the last 15 days. We attended several meetings. On Thursday, the External Affairs Minister will convene a meeting. But I will not be able to attend that. I have some pre-scheduled engagements. I was out of the country for some time. In the meantime, the by-election for Kaliganj has been announced. I have some work in my Parliamentary area. I will be busy with that for the next few days. I will inform the External Affairs Ministry about my opinion in writing. Once I inform the ministry, I will speak on that matter,” Banerjee told media persons.

Initially, cricketer-turned-politician and Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member from Baharampur constituency in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, Yusuf Pathan, was chosen by the Centre as the party representative in the multi-party delegation.

Both West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee expressed grievance over the manner of selection of Pathan, and both alleged that the Centre nominated the former cricketer without giving prior information to the Trinamool Congress leadership, including the CM.

Thereafter, Pathan’s name was withdrawn from the delegation, and Abhishek Banerjee replaced him.

New Delhi, June 4: The Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has issued summonses to former AAP Ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms in government schools.

Satyendar Jain was summoned to the ACB office on June 6, and Manish Sisodia was asked to appear on June 9.

The ACB issued the summonses on Tuesday over alleged corruption of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of 12,748 classrooms or semi-permanent structures in government schools during the previous AAP government’s tenure.

On April 30, the ACB registered an FIR against the two AAP leaders.

Jain was the minister of the Public Works Department (PWD), which carried out the constructions, in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, and Manish Sisodia was the Education Minister.

The anti-corruption body has alleged that the scam involved awarding contracts at highly inflated rates, with classrooms in government-run schools reportedly built at Rs 24.86 lakh each, nearly five times the usual cost.

It has also been alleged that the project was awarded to 34 contractors, and a majority of them were linked to the AAP.

The ACB has alleged that the construction involved Semi-Permanent Structures (SPS) with an expected lifespan of 30 years, yet costs matched those of Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) structures, which typically last up to 75 years.

The project’s cost was increased by Rs 326 crore without bringing new tenders, the ACB has said in its report.

The anti-corruption body said that “significant deviations and cost escalations” were noticed, but not a “single work was completed within the prescribed period”.

The Delhi government’s vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam in 2022 and submitted a report to the chief secretary. In March this year, President Droupadi Murmu gave her approval for the registration of an FIR against Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain.

The AAP has criticised the move, saying the case against its leaders was registered to “pressure and scare” them.