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The case of YouTuber and travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, who was detained on suspicion of sending classified material to Pakistani intelligence agents, has revealed shocking revelations in an expanding espionage investigation. The disclosures, which came from an inquiry known as Operation Mir Jafar, hint at a concerted attempt by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to keep an eye on VIP movements at key border crossings between India and Pakistan.

Malhotra and a number of other accused agents were assigned to cover high-level movement at the Attari-Wagah border and inside the Kartarpur Corridor, a visa-free route that permits Indian pilgrims to travel to Pakistan to see the holy Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, according to sources close to the investigation who spoke to News18 Hindi. Forensic specialists are already searching through confiscated digital devices to find erased messages and deeper connections, even if the material was purportedly sought under the pretense of normal talks.

The computers and cell phones that were seized from Malhotra and other prisoners are now undergoing forensic examination. Large amounts of data, presumably including conversation logs with Pakistani handlers, seem to have been purposefully erased, according to preliminary results. Investigators think this was done to hide private conversations that would have revealed espionage.

Ali Hasan, a purported Pakistani intelligence official who oversaw operatives on the ground, is one name that keeps coming up in the investigation. According to intelligence analysts, Hasan showed a special interest in identifying covert Indian officials or VIPs working under obscurity by asking who was given official protocol during his travels to Attari and Kartarpur.

Malhotra allegedly informed Hasan in one overheard call that she herself did not get any protocol while at Attari. Hasan apparently said that those who are valuable or secret are treated differently and discreetly. He then gave her instructions to let him know about any such people and make sure they were kept apart, even suggesting that some of them be given separate seats within the Kartarpur Gurudwara.

It has also been revealed that Jyoti Malhotra, apparently under instructions, tried to contact a certain individual inside the Gurudwara. But the person didn’t interact with her. Malhotra allegedly said that the individual was “not crazy” in a communication to her handler, perhaps expressing his apprehension about a possible set-up.

As authorities try to find additional people who could have been acting under the same Pakistani operative’s influence or instructions, the investigation’s breadth is growing. To put together the whole scope of the network, each suspect is being questioned independently.

According to investigators, the spy ring may have been operating covertly for a while, gathering information on movements, trends, and security activities at crucial border locations that may have seemed harmless at first.

Authorities caution that as intelligence cross-verification and computer forensics advance, additional arrests may occur.