Nuh man held for ‘spying’ was in touch with expelled Pakistan official also named in vlogger case

Police arrested the accused, Armaan, in Nuh city on Saturday, booking him under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Official Secrets Act. The same day, a local court sent him to police custody for six days.

According to police, a search of the accused’s phone revealed conversations with Pakistan-based numbers through WhatsApp and other platforms. Armaan had also shared photos and videos with these numbers, including sharing the defence expo visuals with the Pakistan High Commission official, said the source mentioned above.

One of Armaan’s family members said, requesting anonymity: “We have relatives in Pakistan with whom we all were in touch over the phone. Maybe that has led to the confusion.”

“Police have not questioned us yet. I do not know what the government has on him, but it seems like the allegations are all wrong,” said this person.

A senior Haryana Police officer said: “The arrests are being made on the inputs shared by central intelligence agencies. The accused Armaan, too, was in touch with a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission who has already been found spying for Pakistan. The accused is being interrogated for any more links that he might have had.”

Police said Armaan is from a landowning family from Rajaka village in Nuh district and largely takes care of their work.

This is the third spying arrest from Haryana in recent days amid the tensions with Pakistan.

The 33-year-old travel vlogger, Rani, had been arrested on Friday for allegedly sharing “sensitive information” with the Pakistani official named above. Her YouTube channel, Travel with Jo, has more than 3,77,000 subscribers and she has more than 1,32,000 followers on Instagram.

Police said she told them during interrogation that she had gone to the Pakistan High Commission for getting a visitor visa in 2023. It was then that she allegedly came into contact with the official, Danish. Earlier this week, police had arrested a 24-year-old man from Panipat for allegedly sharing sensitive information with several individuals in Pakistan. Nauman Elahi, who belongs to Uttar Pradesh, was a security guard at a blanket-knitting factory in Panipat.