Chandigarh, May 21 -- A senior Punjab Police officer probing the espionage case in which a Malerkotla resident Guzala has been arrested said that the investigations have revealed that the woman and Pakistan High Commission officer Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rahim acted as "more than a friend." Danish, who has been declared persona non grata by India, was in the thick of running a spying web in India and the police probe in the Malerkotla case has revealed that he used to lure the persons by offering help in securing Pakistan visas and then would cultivate them as his espionage assets. In the case of Guzala, a widow, the Punjab Police investigation has revealed that Danish used to 'honey-trap' women to create them as espionage assets. According to a Punjab Police investigation, accessed exclusively by HT, Guzala has confessed to working for Danish and has revealed that she had gone to the Pakistan High Commission on February 2 this year to get visas for her, her aunt Nasreen Bano and two other relatives when she came in contact with the official. "The next day, my aunt went back to the embassy to get an idea as to when our visas will be granted. She was told that only my visa had been rejected from the group. We came back to Malerkotla. However, on February 27, I got a text on my WhatsApp from a person, who introduced himself as Danish, the visa officer at Pakistan High Commission, who had conducted my visa interview," Guzala told police. The woman said that she was in regular touch with Danish thereafter. "Danish also asked me to use the Telegram application from another number and would often say whenever she needed her visa she could come to the embassy. Finally, I got my Pakistan visa sanctioned in April with the help of Danish. I later came to know that Danish is already married," Guzala's statement reads, a copy of which has been accessed by HT. Later, Danish started using Guzala as an espionage asset and would ask for key military information, the police said. Guzala herself has admitted to police that Danish made two men (names withheld as the probe is going on) to make payment to her via UPI. "Later, Danish asked me to transfer the money to some other person," Guzala told police. The police probe has found that Danish's number is saved as 'Happiness' in Guzala's mobile phone. Notably, when Guzala noticed Danish's messages were getting automatically deleted from the application because of settings, she had video-recorded some of the chats with Danish on another mobile which she claimed was of her brother. That mobile has also been recovered by the police. Notably, in the case of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's arrests, the Haryana Police has found that it was in 2023 when Jyoti applied visa application to Pakistan that allegedly brought her into contact with Danish. In the Malerkotla case, the second person arrested identified as Yasin Mohammad, a Qila Ahmedgarh Mohalla resident of Malerkotla city, had also transferred Rs.10,000 to Guzala's account. Yasin, 33, who used to deal with pesticides, has told the police that he had visited Pakistan in 2013 for the first time to stay with his relative at Gujjaranwala. He told police that he met Danish at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 while appearing for the visa interview. "Danish got friendly with me and asked about my profession. He offered me help in getting Pakistan visas sanctioned for more Malerkotla residents as and when required," the police probe has found. "We used to talk quite often and Danish would often seek key information about India and Malerkotla. He would also ask about other installations in Punjab. After a few days, with Danish's help, I got three visas sanctioned and Danish asked me to send Rs.5,000 each to an account number via UPI. We had deposited that money through a UPI scanner," Yasin's statement to the police reveals. Guzala claimed in her statement that Danish has told her that Yasin has been working for him for many years. A case has been registered under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secret Act at Police Station City-1 Malerkotla against Gazala and Yasin and mobile phones of both the accused has been sent to forensic investigation. DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav has already stated that a preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information. They were in frequent contact with the handler and were involved in channelling funds to other local operatives as per his instructions, he said in a statement after announcing the arrest of the two accused. Punjab Police has so far arrested at least 8 persons who were allegedly spying for Pakistan just before and after the Pahalgam attack. Based on information gathered from the mobiles of the accused, more than 30 persons, across the Punjab and neighbouring states are being tracked in this espionage network, an official said....