Jyoti Malhotra's arrest reminiscent of 15-year-old Madhuri Gupta spying case

The arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra for allegedly spying for Pakistan has sent ripples through the nation's security establishment. But this isn't the first time such a betrayal has jolted India. The case of Madhuri Gupta, a senior Indian diplomat arrested in 2010 for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), remains one of the most shocking breaches of national trust in recent history.

While Jyoti Malhotra allegedly used digital media platforms to gather and transmit information, Gupta operated within the inner sanctums of Indian diplomacy. A seasoned officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Gupta was serving as Second Secretary (Press and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad when she was found to have betrayed her nation.

Madhuri Gupta's fall from grace was dramatic and unprecedented. An alumna of Jawaharlal Nehru University and a career diplomat with 27 years of service, she was fluent in Urdu and handpicked for her role in Pakistan. Her job primarily involved monitoring local media and reporting developments to New Delhi. But beneath the surface, Gupta fed some of India's most closely held secrets to its arch-rival.