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News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
From YouTube Fame To Jail For 'Spying', Where Does The Jyoti Malhotra Case Stand Now?
Last Updated: Youtuber and travel influencer Jyoti Malhotra has been sent to judicial custody after the end of her police remand in the espionage case Just a harmless travel blogger or a hardened spy? In a matter of weeks, Jyoti Malhotra's life went from YouTube fame to being jailed on espionage charges. It almost looks like a plot from a spy thriller. Except that it is not. Jyoti Malhotra, a 33-year-old travel influencer, was among 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past three weeks on suspicion of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India. Malhotra, who is from Haryana's Hisar, ran a YouTube channel – 'Travel with JO". She has been booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). She has pleaded innocence before her father, Harish Malhotra, who visited her in jail and later spoke to the media about his daughter. Setting aside the emotionality of the matter, videos have emerged – one of which is her own – painting a picture of alleged closeness to Pakistani officials and giving a glimpse into her high-security visit to Pakistan. WHAT IS THE CURRENT LEGAL STATUS OF THE CASE? On May 26, Malhotra was sent to judicial custody after the end of her police remand in the espionage case. She was produced in court. A police spokesperson said they did not seek her further remand after which the court sent her to jail. Last week, the court had extended her police remand by four days when she was produced before the court at the end of her five-day police remand. After her arrest, the police, which seized her three mobile phones and a laptop, sent the articles for forensic examination. Her four bank accounts are also being examined. According to police sources, data from the Youtuber's gadgets has been recovered. 'Nearly 10-12 terabytes of data has been recovered. Further investigation in this regard is under progress," they said. Police sources had said she was in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023. India expelled Danish on May 13 for his alleged links in espionage. She was also allegedly in touch with Danish during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, they had said. Over the past three weeks since she was arrested, however, the media scrutiny over Malhotra has been intense. After some reports carried speculation and hearsay, particularly about her personal life and character, the Hisar police had last week issued a press release putting out bare facts such as a list of gadgets seized from her, and clarified that the forensic reports were not yet in. The police said there is no evidence to indicate that she had access to any military or defence-related information. But, they said, she was definitely in contact with some people, knowing that they were Pakistani intelligence operatives. 'It is noticed that while the investigation is on…many baseless reports are circulating in the media," the police release in Hindi said, adding that such false reporting 'impacts not only the investigation but also national security". Point by point, the police rebutted false reports. About her personal life, in particular, the police release said there was nothing yet suggesting that she had married any Pakistani official or converted to another religion. WHAT ARE THE VIDEOS FROM HER PAKISTAN TRIPS? Malhotra has travelled thrice to Pakistan and posted the videos of these visits on her YouTube channel and Instagram page. Videos related to her trip to Lahore have gone viral after her arrest. These purportedly show that she was provided high security during the visit to the neighbouring country. The video is mostly of her roaming the streets and describing her experience as an Indian walking the streets of Lahore. But, it also shows that she is surrounded by gunmen armed with AK-47s, and she was followed by the security cover wherever she visited. At one point, officials even blocked traffic movement for her convenience. Malhotra, during her trip, visited Lahore's Valmiki Mandir, where she was spotted interacting with a security official. 'A special door at Shahi Qila (Lahore Fort) was opened for you. It is the oldest door there. Now that you are here, do visit Anarkali Bazar (also in Lahore)," she is told. Another video is by Scottish Youtuber Callum Mill, who was also present at the spot, and expressed surprise at seeing an armed security detail surrounding Malhotra at Anarkali Bazar. He was seen briefly interacting with her and is heard saying: 'Look at all the guns she has got surrounding her. There's about six gunmen surrounding her." The videos have managed to raise more questions about her interaction with high-profile Pakistani officials. One of her other videos reveals that she attended an iftar dinner at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi last year. She had also posted the video, expressing an interest in visiting Pakistan and asking almost everyone she met to help her get a visa. In that video, she is seen interacting with Danish, who was declared persona non grata and asked to leave India within 24 hours for committing espionage and leaking sensitive information regarding the movements of the Indian Army. The FIR against Malhotra mentioned that she met Danish in 2023 at the High Commission and has been in touch with him since. He allegedly played the role of her handler and facilitated her introduction to Pakistani intelligence operatives. top videos View all In the purported video with Danish, she describes the atmosphere at the High Commission. 'I am mesmerised. I have no words. I am excited, super duper excited. Bhaisahab, main to hil gayi (I am so impressed)," she is heard saying. She was also seen interacting with several attendees and asking whether they have visited Pakistan, saying 'I want to go, too". 'Hopefully I will get a visa, we'll go together," she had said to a fellow YouTuber. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : espionage jyoti malhotra Operation Sindoor Pahalgam attack Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 29, 2025, 07:00 IST News india From YouTube Fame To Jail For 'Spying', Where Does The Jyoti Malhotra Case Stand Now?
Scroll.in
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
India declares another Pakistani High Commission official persona non grata
India on Wednesday declared an official working at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi persona non grata for allegedly 'engaging in activities inconsistent with his diplomatic role'. India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the official had been asked to leave the country within 24 hours. The ministry did not identify the official. This is the second such expulsion in a week. In diplomatic parlance, an official declared persona non-grata is deemed unwelcome by the host country. Pakistan retaliated on Thursday by directing an official at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to leave the country within 24 hours. This marked the second expulsion by Pakistan within a week. The Indian external affairs ministry said on Wednesday that Saad Warraich, the chargé d'affaires of the Pakistani High Commission, was issued a démarche, or a diplomatic protest, and instructed to ensure that no Pakistani diplomat or official in India misused their privileges or status. Following Pakistan's downgrade of diplomatic ties with India in August 2019 over New Delhi's decision to abrogate the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, both countries' diplomatic missions have been led by chargés d'affaires instead of the high commissioners. With the expulsion on Wednesday, the operational staff at the Pakistani High Commission has reduced to 28, The Indian Express reported. On May 13, New Delhi had expelled an official of the Pakistani High Commission on similar grounds. The expelled Pakistani officials were allegedly connected to people who were recently arrested in Punjab and Haryana including a travel vlogger, who have been accused of spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies, The Indian Express quoted unidentified government officials as saying. On May 10, India and Pakistan reached an 'understanding' to halt firing following a four-day conflict. Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad had escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22. The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed. India and Pakistan have fired tit-for-tat diplomatic salvoes at each other following the terror attack, such as suspending the Indus Waters Treaty and bilateral trade, cancelling visas and expelling diplomats. A day after the Pahalgam attack, India had declared Pakistan's defence, military, naval and air advisers in New Delhi persona non grata and said it would withdraw its defence advisers from Islamabad.
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Jyoti Malhotra was seen with man who carried cake to Pakistan Embassy after Pahalgam attack
Photos of Jyoti Malhotra with the man who was filmed delivering a cake to the Pakistan High Commission after the Pahalgam terror attack have surfaced on social media. Malhotra, a YouTuber from Haryana, was recently arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan. The travel vlogger made several trips to Pakistan, documented on her YouTube and Instagram channels. Malhotra was also invited to parties at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi, videos of which are also available on her YouTube channel. Police say that she shared sensitive information and was in constant touch with a Pakistani man. In one video shared on her YouTube channel 'Travel with Jo', Malhotra was seen with a man who was later spotted with a box of cake outside the Pakistani High Commission - two days after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam. An X user - Being Political '@BeingPolitical1- shared a side-by-side comparison of the visuals. 'Do you remember this video? When an employee of Pakistan High Commission brought a cake the next day of Pahalgam attack. This is the same person who was seen with Pak spy Jyoti Malhotra,' the X user stated. Jyoti Malhotra, a 34-year-old travel blogger and YouTuber from Hisar, Haryana, known for her channel "Travel with Jo," was arrested on May 16, 2025, on charges of espionage for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). She has been accused of communicating sensitive information to Pakistani operatives through encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat. She was booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act. (Also read: Before she was arrested for spying for Pak, this man warned NIA about Jyoti Malhotra) An official spokesman of the Hisar police said that Malhotra told the probe officials that she was introduced to Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, at the Pakistan High Commission by Harkirat Singh, an employee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Kurukshetra, when she went to apply for a visa to Pakistan.
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
How was influencer Jyoti Malhotra lured into spying for Pakistan? One name in focus
Since the arrest of Haryana-based social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra for allegedly spying for Pakistan, some starting revelations have come into focus, including police finding that she was a 'Pakistani asset' in the making. Jyoti Malhotra, who runs a YouTube channel 'Travel with JO', has travelled to Pakistan multiple times and uploaded videos from there. According to the police, she was being developed as a long-term asset, mainly for 'narrative warfare'. Jyoti Malhotra was also invited to parties at the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi, the videos of which are also available on her YouTube channel. The cops say she was inside the Pakistani information network. But the biggest question is, how was she lured into spying for the neighbouring nation? One name stands out in Jyoti Malhotra's videos in the Pakistani High Commission: Danish. According to Hissar SP Shashank Kumar Sawan, she was allegedly in contact with a Pakistani officer stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor, following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed. This is the same official who has since been declared persona non grata and expelled by India. The name, Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish. Jyoti Malhotra's 2023 visa application to Pakistan allegedly brought her into contact with Danish, who was a key figure at the High Commission before being declared persona non grata. She has told police that Danish befriended her in their first meeting, and they started talking over the phone. Danish's associate, Ali Ahwan, arranged her stay in Pakistan about two years ago, according to an FIR lodged at Civil Lines Police Station on May 16. "In Pakistan, Ali Ahwan arranged a meeting with Pakistani security and intelligence officials, and I met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. I took Shakir's mobile number and saved it in my phone under the name of 'Jat Randhawa' to avoid suspicion. Then I came back to India and remained in constant touch with all the above people through platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Telegram, and started sharing information," NDTV quoted Jyoti Malhotra telling officials. Danish was expelled by the Indian government for alleged spying on May 13, three days after a ceasefire understanding was reached with Pakistan. Just days later, the Police nabbed Jyoti Malhotra. The cops are now investigating the money trail and her alleged sponsored trips to Pakistan and China, where she reportedly got VIP treatment.
Business Recorder
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Indian extremists attack Pakistani High Commission in London
LONDON: Indians attacked and damaged the building of Pakistani High Commission in the British capital London on Sunday a day after a violent protest. The attackers broke the windows of the High Commission building after throwing saffron paint, a symbol of Hindu religion, on the walls which are white and the plaque. Indian nationals have been staging protest rallies in front of Pakistani High Commission for the last two days. On Saturday, the London police arrested two protesters for resorting to violence during a protest. India has been blaming Pakistan for a terrorists attack in its occupied Kashmir's Pahalgam area on Tuesday in which 26 tourists were shot dead. Pakistan denied the charge.
