Silent front: Spy whispers refuse to subside in Hisar after arrest of vlogger Jyoti Malhotra

HISAR: A local YouTuber's recent arrest on charges of espionage has reignited national security concerns in this key military centre that has remained a target of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for more than 25 years.The city in Haryana, home to a military cantonment, the prestigious Army horse breeding farm, and a Border Security Force (BSF) campus, has a long history of espionage cases involving Pakistani nationals and suspected agents operating on Indian soil. Just 90 km away, Sirsa houses a major Air Force base, further amplifying the region's strategic value.While recent attention centres on the arrest of the YouTuber - who is said to be travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra - earlier cases show a troubling pattern. In 2001, Pakistani national Asgar Ali was found to have infiltrated Hisar's cantonment area using forged Indian documents, including a ration card and driver's licence. He was arrested in Bikaner, Rajasthan, while attempting to flee the country.In 2003, Mohammad Haider, a resident of Valmiki Basti in Hisar, was detained in Ambala for allegedly transmitting sensitive information to Pakistan. Two years later, in 2005, Akhtar Ullah Munir 'Sameer' spent over a year living in Krishna Nagar, Hisar. He was accused of passing military intelligence from Punjab and Haryana to Pakistan. Further arrests in 2006 - of suspects Jyotiprasad and Babulal in Jalandhar - uncovered links back to Hisar.In the same month, Ludhiana police nabbed Vijay, a resident of Hisar's Sabzi Mandi area, who had posed as a whitewasher while allegedly spying.Intelligence agencies also confirmed that at least five other spies arrested across India were carrying forged documents originating from Hisar, highlighting its continued misuse as a hub for identity fabrication. Near the Jindal Bridge in April 2020, Hisar police detained a youth suspected of being a Pakistani national. Even though the Indian intelligence agencies were alerted, official details of the incident were never released.Security experts warn that the persistence of such cases points to Hisar's enduring appeal for foreign intelligence agencies aiming to penetrate India's defence infrastructure.