Indian police have arrested a popular travel vlogger, Jyoti Malhotra, from Hisar, Haryana, on charges of spying for Pakistan.
The 33-year-old Malhotra, who runs a YouTube channel called Travel With Jo, is accused of sharing sensitive information with Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI. Her YouTube channel has over 377,000 subscribers and her Instagram account has more than 132,000 followers.
Haryana Police’s Anti-Spy Unit arrested Malhotra on May 16 from the New Aggarwal Extension area of Hisar. According to the preliminary police report (FIR), she had secret communications with a Pakistani High Commission staff member, Ehsan Ur Rahim alias Danish, through WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat.
Danish was expelled from India on May 13 on charges of espionage. Malhotra had uploaded several videos on her YouTube channel such as “Indian Girl in Pakistan”, “Indian Girl Exploring Lahore”, and “Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple”, which the police suspect were covers for her alleged spying activities.
Police allege that with Danish’s assistance, Malhotra traveled to Pakistan at least twice in 2023. During her stay, she reportedly met ISI agents named Ali Awan, Shakir, and Rana Shahbaz. After returning to India, she began sending sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
A video showing Malhotra attending an Iftar dinner at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi in March 2024, where she met Danish and expressed her desire to visit Pakistan again, has also been submitted as evidence. Investigators claim Malhotra was part of a large spy network spread across Haryana and Punjab. Reports from Indian media suggest she had close ties with Pakistani spies and even traveled to Bali, Indonesia with one of them.
The arrest took place during heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. On April 22, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir killed 26 civilians. In response, India carried out strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan retaliated with attacks on India. However, both countries later agreed to a ceasefire under U.S. pressure.
Along with Malhotra, Indian police reported the arrest of six others from Haryana and Punjab on similar charges. Malhotra was presented in court on May 16, and the court granted police five days of custody for further investigation.
Source: Agencies
