Rajasthan espionage accused linked to same Pakistan official who cultivated YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra as asset: Police

Shakur Khan (49) was arrested on Tuesday on charges of spying for Pakistan. (Image Credit: X)

The government employee arrested on charges of espionage from Rajasthan's Jaipur has been found to have been in constant touch with the same Pakistan High Commission official who was behind cultivating a network of spies, including Haryana-based travel vlogger Jyoti Rani Malhotra, Inspector General of Police, Security, Vishnu Kant said on Tuesday.

Shakur Khan, 49, was officially arrested by officials of the Rajasthan Intelligence department after being held in detention for a few days on charges of spying for Pakistan. He has been remanded to seven-day police custody.

As per the FIR, Khan was found to have several Pakistani mobile phone numbers saved on his iPhone and was allegedly in touch with these numbers through WhatsApp chats, including through audio and video calls. He is also alleged to have shared strategically important videos and images, which were found to be deleted, with these numbers.

IG Kant said that Khan's activities had been under suspicion for some time and he was being closely monitored. "During surveillance, it was found that Khan was in constant touch with some people working in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, especially Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, and Sohail Qamar," he said.

Danish was declared persona non grata by the Indian government on May 13 and was asked to leave India immediately. He was suspected of having cultivated a network of spies which emerged after the arrest of two individuals in Malerkotla in early May - soon after the terror attack in Pahalgam.

Officials said that it emerged during the investigation that Khan obtained a Pakistani visa several times with the help of Danish, the Pakistan embassy staffer, and travelled to the country. Khan allegedly contacted agents of the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during his stay in the country.

It has been alleged that he used to return to India and collect information of strategic importance as per the instructions of ISI and send it to Pakistan through means like WhatsApp. With the help of Danish, he also helped other people in obtaining a visa for Pakistan.

Khan’s actions come under the ambit of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and a case has been registered against him for the same, police said. "This was a serious security breach, as due to his position, he could have access to a lot of sensitive information," IG Kant said.

According to officials quoted by The Indian Express, three mobile phones were recovered from Kahn's possession which have now been sent for technical analysis. The phones had many photos and videos of strategic importance which were allegedly shared with his handler whose name he had saved in his phone as Haji Wali Mohammad Darash.

Khan, a native of Jaisalmer’s Mangaliyon ki Dhani, was questioned in detail by the intelligence agencies at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur. He was earlier linked to a former Congress minister with BJP leaders demanding an investigation against the minister as well.