Did Haryana vlogger Jyoti Malhotra aid Pakistan before Pahalgam attack? Police reveal new leads
Did Haryana travel-vlogger Jyoti Malhotra 'help' Pakistan for Pahalgam terror attack? According to Shashank Kumar Sawan, Superintendent of Police in Hisar, 'They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra)as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs. She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips. She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack"
"The investigation is on to establish linkages, if there are any. We are also investigating, as we have leads that other people were also involved with her.' the Haryana top cop added.
Jyoti Malhotra, a Haryana-based travel vlogger with a popular YouTube channel 'Travel With Jo', was arrested last week on charges of espionage for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence agencies. The 34-year-old, who has over 3.7 lakh subscribers and a significant Instagram following, is currently under police remand as investigations into her alleged links with Pakistan intensify.
Jyoti Malhotra's arrest comes amid heightened security concerns following the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on 22 April 2025. The assault claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 tourists and a local resident, and was carried out by three terrorists, two of whom were foreign nationals.
Despite extensive efforts by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police, the attackers remain at large.
Authorities have released sketches of the suspects and announced a reward of ₹ 20 lakh for information leading to their capture.
The Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba's affiliate, The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility for the attack, which prompted India to launch Operation Sindoor targeting terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Jyoti Malhotra's alleged involvement has added a new dimension to the investigation. Police disclosed that she maintained regular contact with Pakistani nationals and intelligence operatives, including Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, who was recently expelled from India.
Jyoti Malhotra reportedly attended events at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi and posted content praising Pakistan on her social media platforms, including calling Lahore the 'cultural heart of Pakistan.'
Authorities suspect her frequent trips to Pakistan were sponsored and part of a broader effort to cultivate her as an asset for Pakistani intelligence.
The Haryana Police have charged Malhotra under the Official Secrets Act and other relevant laws for endangering India's sovereignty.
The travel vlogger's electronic devices have been seized for forensic analysis, and investigations continue to uncover the extent of her network and involvement. This arrest is part of a wider crackdown on espionage activities in the region, with multiple individuals linked to Pakistani handlers detained in recent weeks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Masked gang waylays Kerala jeweller on Coimbatore highway, robs him of 1.25 kg of gold bars
COIMBATORE: In a daring daylight robbery, a five-member masked gang robbed 1.25 kilogram of gold bars along with cash by waylaying a Thrissur-based jeweller at Ettimadai on the national highway stretch in Coimbatore on Saturday morning. The gangsters targeted J Jaison Jacob (55) of Palakkal village in Thrissur district where he owns a jewellery shop along with a goldsmithery unit, said the KG Chavadi police in Coimbatore. Jaison and his employee S Vishnu (20) were returning to his native place in Jaison's car from the Coimbatore railway station when the incident occurred. Earlier, they had arrived in the city by train from Chennai after buying gold bars weighing 1.25 kg from a few shops in Chennai. While the duo reached near a petroleum bunk on the Palakkad-bound national highway, a lorry waylaid the car. Subsequently, the five-member gang who were hiding nearby asked Jaison to open the door. When he resisted, one of the gang members damaged the car window using an iron rod. Fearing an attack, Jaison opened the door, and subsequently the gang got into the car. "The gang also shifted Jaison, who was driving the car, to the backseat, and one of the members drove the car on the same highway. After spraying pepper spray, the gang stole the gold bars which were kept under the seat at knifepoint, and left Jaison and Vishnu on the roadside. Subsequently, the gang travelled in the same car towards the Velanthavalam route on another route," said a police officer of the KG Chavadi police station. After help from fellow motorists, Jaison filed a complaint at the KG Chavadi police station. Coimbatore SP K Karthikeyan visited the spot. "As the gang spoke in Malayalam, we suspect the suspects were from Kerala. The gang travelled for two kilometres after taking the car at 6.45am and assaulting Jaison and Vishnu. The gang also took Rs 60,000 cash that Jaison had kept in the car. We will arrest them soon by deploying a special team," the SP said. We are coordinating with the Kerala Police to nab the culprits, he added. [At the current market price of about Rs 9,320 per sovereign for 22 carat gold in Chennai, 1.25 kg or 156 sovereigns of gold costs approximately Rs 14,539,20. (1 kg = 1,000 g = 125 sovereigns.)]
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Influencer's murder: Four social media accounts of key accused Mehron blocked
At least four Instagram handles associated with a self-styled Sikh radical leader Amritpal Singh Mehron wanted in the murder of a woman digital content creator Kanchan Kumari, were restricted in India on Saturday for allegedly posting death threats and racist content, officials said. Mehron, a 30-year-old Nihnag, who continues to evade arrest, has a sizeable following on social media, and his verified pages have been posting objectionable audio, videos, and photos since Friday. The action has been taken against pages— amritpalsinghmehron, amritpalsingh_mehron, and and are inaccessible in India with a message that 'these accounts are not available in India due to a legal request to restrict the content'. Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amneet Kondal said on Friday that the state police's cyber cell has initiated the action. ' A lookout circular has been issued to prevent Mehron from fleeing the country,' SSP Kondal added. Police sources said several social media accounts are under lens for supporting Mehron's objectionable content online. Several social media influencers from Punjab and Haryana have been posting videos supporting Kanchan's murder, stating it was a direct warning to 'immoral elements' by Mehron. Police officials said that teams are conducting raids to nab Mehron. Two close associates of Mehron, Jaspreet Singh Mehron, 31, and Nimaratjit Singh Harike, 21, were arrested by the Bathinda police on Friday for allegedly strangulating Kanchan Kumari, 30, popularly known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, to death. According to the Bathinda police, Mehron hatched the murder plan as a part of his 'unauthorised moral policing'. After the arrest of his Nihang associates yesterday, Mehron went underground, but he shared videos and gave a telephonic interview to at least one YouTuber. Mehron's Instagram pages posted these videos and audio where he not only justified the murder for bringing a bad name to Sikhism by using a Sikh name for posting vulgar digital content. He also targeted her parental background as a migrant. In his several online posts since yesterday, Mehron has been issuing direct threats to harm the digital content creators physically if they do not follow his diktats to stop posting 'immoral content' immediately. According to the police, the arrested Nihangs, who are in police remand in the murder case, were 'unemployed'. A resident of Moga, Mehron called himself a religious leader and in 2022, he unsuccessfully contested the 2022 state election from the Tarn Taran seat on the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) ticket. As per his election affidavit, Mehron studied up to class 12 (non-medical) and holds a diploma in diesel mechanic.
The Hindu
38 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Use Hindi words instead of Urdu, Persian: Rajasthan's new directive to police
Rajasthan Minister Jawahar Singh Bedham on Friday (June 13, 2025) wrote a letter to the Director General of Police (DGP), suggesting that the police department simplify its language by replacing Urdu and Persian words with Hindi equivalents. Speaking to ANI, Mr. Bedham said, "I wrote a letter to the DGP to prepare a draft for selecting such words. Urdu and Persian words are no longer in use. We should use Hindi words. When that draft comes from there, then we will put this matter before the Chief Minister." Also Read | BJP seeks L-G's intervention to drop Urdu for Naib Tehsildar posts, sparks political storm Mr. Bedham stated that many students preparing for competitive exams in Rajasthan do not study Urdu as their third language, which puts them at a disadvantage when they join the police force and encounter Urdu and Persian terminology. He noted that police officers in various districts have expressed the need to amend the language used in daily police work. Mr. Bedham said, "In Rajasthan, most of the children who are studying and preparing for competitions do not take Urdu as their third language, nor is it a part of the competition. So when they get selected in the competition and become sub-inspector, SP, they do not understand the meaning of many words." Mr. Bedham proposed that the police department prepare a draft of simplified words to replace Urdu and Persian terms, which he believes are no longer in common use. He suggested that this would make the language more accessible to the general public and easier for new recruits to understand. 'When I went on tour to many districts in Rajasthan, police officers told me that these words have become irrelevant now; they need to be amended. And I myself thought that now that new technology has come and Urdu is also disappearing from our common spoken language, so we should simplify the words so that the common man can understand them,' the Minister added. To address the issue, Mr. Bedham requested the DGP to prepare a draft identifying such words that can be replaced. The proposal, once formalised, is expected to be reviewed by the Chief Minister and possibly rolled out across police departments in Rajasthan.
