Jyoti Malhotra, a well-known travel YouTuber from Hisar, has shocked the online community and security agencies alike with her arrest on charges of espionage for Pakistan. Known for her channel “Travel with Jo,” which has over 377,000 subscribers, Malhotra’s alleged involvement in a Pakistan-backed spying ring operating across Haryana and Punjab exposes the growing misuse of social media influencers in espionage activities.
Arrest and Charges of Jyoti Malhotra
The Hisar police arrested Jyoti Malhotra following her admission of passing sensitive Indian information to Pakistani agents. They booked her under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act.
After her arrest, the police obtained a five-day remand to collect more evidence. Now the Economic Offences Wing is investigating her role and connections more thoroughly.
Connections with Pakistani Operatives
Malhotra initially met Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an employee of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, during her visit to Pakistan in 2023, according to the FIR registered at Hisar Civil Lines Police Station by Sub-Inspector Sanjay. Danish used to serve as her handler, introducing her to other Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). They were in touch over encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat.
Trips to Pakistan and Bali
More research confirmed Malhotra made two trips to Pakistan in 2023, having meetings with the most important operatives like Ali Ehwan, Shakir, and Rana Shahbaz. She went undercover and saved their contact names, naming one as “Jatt Randhawa” to avoid detection. She also went to Bali, Indonesia, with one of these operatives, which shows her role was more than communication and had crossed into involvement.
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Espionage Network Covering Haryana and Punjab
Security officials found that Malhotra is a part of a large network of espionage with several operatives functioning as agents, money conduits, and informants in Haryana and Punjab. Six people associated with this network have been arrested so far, revealing a major security lapse in India’s vulnerable locations.
Malhotra’s YouTube channel, followed by millions, became a powerful tool for projecting a good image of Pakistan on social media. The investigators are of the opinion that her Pakistani handlers used her popularity to execute a coordinated effort to influence public opinion under the cover of innocuous travel content.
Tensions Amid India-Pakistan Conflict
This espionage affair happens against the backdrop of an intense India-Pakistan standoff in the wake of the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were massacred. India accused Pakistan-sponsored terror outfits of orchestrating the attack; consequently, it retaliated by initiating ‘Operation Sindoor,’ targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK..
Malhotra’s arrest clearly indicates how, over time, cross-border spy networks have increasingly utilized cyber platforms and unsuspecting persons to infiltrate India’s security system. Moreover, this trend highlights the growing sophistication of such operations. Therefore, governments must be on guard against such underhand networks and actively work to restrict the misuse of social media followers for antagonistic intelligence collection.
