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Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Spying' for Pak: Vlogger Jyoti Malhotra sent to judicial custody
A district court here on Monday remanded travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra, accused of spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies, in judicial custody . The 33-year-old had been in police remand for 10 days prior to that. The Haryana Police had on May 21 said that till now no such fact has come to light to show that the YouTuber had access to any military, defence or strategic information or that she was in contact with any terrorist organization. The police has not issued any updates in the matter since. Hisar SP Shashank Kumar Sawan earlier said that the accused was in contact with some people knowing they are Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). 'But till now no such fact has come to light directly which can be said that the accused was in contact with any terrorist organization. No fact has come to light so far regarding the accused's involvement in any terrorist incidents,' added the SP. The SP said the police seized three mobile phones, a laptop and some other electronic devices from the accused. Malhotra has a YouTube channel called Travel with Jo with over 3,77,000 subscribers and an Instagram account with over 1,32,000 followers. 'She visited Pakistan multiple times and also went to China once. We are analysing her financial transactions and travel details. She was in touch with PIOs (Pakistan Intelligence Operatives). She did not have direct access to military or defence information, though Hisar is a strategic location,' the SP had shared. Sawan had said one of her Pakistan visits was 'sponsored'. 'She met some high-profile persons. Why and what information was shared; all these things are being probed.' The police also said she possibly 'fell into a trap for views and likes' and 'her travel details show more expenses than her known sources of income'.
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
6 AK-47s, ‘VIP' Security - New details of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's Pakistan visit sparks outrage
New details from YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's visit to Pakistan have sparked a row, with visuals recorded by Scottish content creator Callum Mill, showing the espionage accused in Lahore's Anarkali Bazaar with six armed gunmen with her. In the Scottish YouTuber's vlog, Jyoti Malhotra was spotted in the bazaar and was accompanied by at least six armed men with AK-47 rifles. Jyoti Malhotra was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan earlier this month. She is among the 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on charges of espionage. In the video, the Indian YouTuber was seen being accompanied by a group of six to seven men, all armed with AK-47 rifles. The men in the video are suspected to be Pakistani security personnel. Dressed in semi-formal attire and jackets which read "no fear", the men surround Jyoti Malhotra as she roams around Lahore's Anarkali bazaar. The new visuals have sparked outrage in India with many questioning the need for high security with the YouTuber. The video from the Scottish YouTuber, who was also left baffled at the site, has raised more questions and suspicions regarding Malhotra's visit to Pakistan. "Callum, you will be surprised to know that this girl is now under arrest in India because she has been caught spying for Pakistan and passing sensitive information to their security agency ISI. She is being interrogated. That will now explain why she was surrounded by security guards and was being treated as a VIP in Pakistan," read a recent comment under the Scottish YouTuber's video. 'No YouTuber walks in Pakistan streets with 6 men armed with AK-47 rifles,' stated one such user on X. Jyoti Malhotra, who has been accused of spying, was present at several high-profile events, where she was spotted with several Pakistani security and intelligence officials. As per the initial investigation against her, police stated that the YouTuber stayed in touch with Pakistani officials even after her return to India. Investigations have further revealed that Malhotra, who ran the channel 'Travel with Jo' worked in collusion with a staff at the Pakistani High Commission - Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish. Furthermore, officials also added that the Indian YouTuber was being developed as a Pakistani asset.
India Today
22-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
'Spy' YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's police custody extended by four days
Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested along with six other persons for allegedly spying for Pakistan, will remain in police custody for at least four more days. During the questioning, Jyoti confessed to meeting Pakistani agents, sources per Hisar Police sources, the remand was sought to facilitate forensic analysis and cross-examination of digital evidence that's awaited. Additionally, to investigate and question other individuals whose names have surfaced during the preliminary inquiry. Hisar Police had requested no media and others to be allowed inside court Malhotra, who ran the YouTube channel "Travel with Jo", visited Pakistan in 2023 after acquiring a visa through commission agents. During her trip, she developed close ties with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Danish was an agent of Islamabad's notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), sources said. He was expelled by India earlier this month amid tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 people said Danish's passport was issued from Islamabad, and he was granted a visa for India on January 21, 2022. According to documents, exclusively accessed by India Today, Danish was born in Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab confessed to having links with Pakistani intelligence agents and said that she was in regular contact with Danish, a Pakistani High Commission official in New Delhi, sources said. According to information exclusively accessed by India Today from interrogation records, Jyoti said she first came in contact with Danish, alias Ehsar Dar, in 2023 when she visited the High Commission for a visa to travel to who runs the YouTube channel called 'Travel with Jo', has around 4 lakh subscribers on the platform."In 2023, I visited the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi to enquire about a visa to travel to Pakistan," Jyoti said during questioning, according to 33-year-old said during her visit to Pakistan, she met Danish's contact Ali Hassan, who arranged her stay and said Jyoti also disclosed that Ali Hassan introduced her to two individuals believed to be Pakistani intelligence officials - Shakir and Rana Shahbaz.
NDTV
21-05-2025
- NDTV
"Get Me Married In Pak": 'Spy' YouTuber's WhatsApp Chat With ISI Handler
New Delhi: A purported conversation between travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra and a Pakistani intelligence officer has surfaced, highlighting the former's link with Islamabad, as the police in India continue to probe the YouTuber for allegedly spying for the neighbouring country. Malhotra, who lived in Haryana's Hisar and ran a YouTube channel called 'Travel with Jo', was arrested last week. Sources suggest she was in constant touch with Ali Hasan, who worked for the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the spy agency of Pakistan that acts as a fulcrum in their military-terror nexus. The two used to talk a lot, they said. Officials have now found a WhatsApp conversation between the 33-year-old YouTuber and Hasan. One of the chats showed Malhotra telling Hasan, "Get me married in Pakistan", which hinted at her emotional connection with Islamabad. Reports suggest that the WhatsApp chats also revealed several coded conversations between the two, specifically those related to undercover operations of India. During the investigation, the police have found information about four bank accounts belonging to Malhotra, said police sources. Transactions from Dubai were also found in one of the accounts. The agencies are now going through all of her bank accounts to find out where she was receiving money. Malhotra, who has over a lakh followers on Instagram, had visited Pakistan twice, during which he had come into contact with Rahim, an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Rahim had later introduced her to the Pakistani intelligence operatives. Back in India, she had remained in touch with her Pakistani handlers and allegedly shared sensitive information on the Indian Army's movement with them. Her father had initially claimed that she had made the trip to shoot videos in Pakistan. Changing his version recently, he said she had informed him of going to Delhi, and not Pakistan. Malhotra is among the dozen-odd individuals who have been arrested in the past week for alleged espionage amid heightened surveillance in the wake of fresh India-Pakistan tensions. Others include a student, a security guard, and a businessman. These suspects were arrested from across Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
What YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's diary revealed about her Pakistan trip: ‘Crazy'
YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was recently arrested under espionage charges for her alleged links with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) and is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Her trips to Pakistan, including the one before the Pahalgam terror attack, and China, are all under the scanner. While intelligence agencies are interrogating Jyoti Malhotra, the recovery of her diary by the Haryana Police provides more insight into her visit to Pakistan. In an undated diary entry, she mentioned her return to 'my country' India from a 10-day Pakistan trip, NDTV reported. "During this time, I received a lot of love from the people of Pakistan. Our subscribers and friends also came to meet us. The two days we got to visit Lahore were not enough," it said. She also described Pakistan as "crazy", "colourful", and said that her experience in the neighbor nation couldn't be put into words. In one of her entries, Jyoti Malhotra also penned down a request she made to the Pakistani authorities. "Protect the temples there and let Indians meet their families from whom they were separated in 1947," it was quoted by the NDTV report. The 33-year-old YouTuber with a channel called 'Travel with Jo' and more than 3.77 lakh subscribers was arrested from her residence in Hisar on May 16. Jyoti Malhotra was booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The Haryana police and the probing agencies have also found that Malhotra was in regular touch with a Pakistani staffer from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, from November 2023 to March 2025. Hisar police spokesman Vikas Kumar said that Malhotra confessed of being in touch with Danish, HT reported. Danish was allegedly "developing her as an asset". Danish, now declared a persona non grata by India, introduced the YouTuber to Ali Ahwan, who then arranged for her accommodation and further meetings with Pakistani security officials Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. As per the FIR registered against her, she had saved Shakir's contact as "Jatt Randhawa" to avoid any suspicion. Following her return to India, Malhotra reportedly kept communicating with the operatives via WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat. She also met Danish several times at the Pakistani High Commission in the national capital. The FIR states that Malhotra was part of a larger espionage network spread across Haryana and Punjab, and involved agents, informants, and financial handlers, HT's report said. The YouTuber also reportedly had multiple bank accounts with several transactions, all of which are now being analysed by the central probing agencies along with her travel history. Hisar superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan had said at a press conference earlier, "Her known income sources do not justify her foreign travel. We suspect external funding. On the surface, she was just a travel blogger." Along with Malhotra, 11 others were arrested by the Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh police over the last two weeks for their alleged role in Pakistani spy operations. Another YouTuber, Guzala, was held from Punjab.
