 "India’s blackouts, sensitive info: What ‘spy’ YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra shared with Pakistan")
Arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra allegedly shared sensitive information, including details about blackouts imposed by India during ‘Operation Sindoor’, to Pakistan, it has been learnt.
The Haryana-based influencer, who ran the YouTube channel ‘Travel with JO’, was arrested under serious espionage charges for her alleged links with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). She is among 11 individuals arrested across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks in connection with a suspected Pakistan-backed spy network believed to be operating in North India.
The influencer, who had over 400,000 subscribers, is currently under probe and is interrogated by both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
The investigation aims to dig deeper into Malhotra’s alleged network and unearth the nature of the information she is believed to have shared. Here’s what we know so far.
Was in contact with Pakistani handlers during Operation Sindoor
Security agencies have uncovered that Malhotra was in touch with three Pakistani intelligence officers, particularly during periods when India had enforced communication blackouts due to heightened security concerns under ‘Operation Sindoor’ .
“She was actively communicating with handlers from Pakistan even when there was a communication blackout,” a senior intelligence source told The Financial Express. She also allegedly shared information related to the blackouts imposed across North India during the operation.
According to NDTV sources, Malhotra was also in frequent contact with Ali Hasan, a handler working for Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Officials said the two were in regular communication, with investigators now retrieving WhatsApp chats between them.
In one such message, Malhotra reportedly told Hasan, “Get me married in Pakistan,” indicating a possible emotional connection with him and Islamabad.
The chats, as per reports, also included several coded exchanges, believed to be linked to India’s undercover operations.
Earlier findings had already revealed that Malhotra had been in touch with Danish , a Pakistan High Commission official, from 2023 to 2025 and had travelled to Pakistan multiple times, including one just days before Pahalgam terror attack.
Danish, also known as Ehsan-ur-Rahim, was expelled by India earlier this month. He was declared persona non grata after being linked to intelligence leaks in Punjab and engaging in activities that violated diplomatic protocols.
As part of the ongoing probe, three of her mobile phones and a laptop were seized for forensic analysis, News18 reported.
Haryana Police had also collected information on two bank accounts, and investigators have revealed transactions from Dubai in one of the accounts. They are now reviewing all of her bank accounts to find out where she was receiving money.
Diary reveals YouTuber’s ‘colourful’ trips to Pakistan
Haryana Police have found a personal diary belonging to Malhotra, offering a window into her reflections and experiences, particularly during her visits to Pakistan.
The diary, spanning 10 to 11 pages, includes eight pages of general travel notes in English, while three pages in Hindi detail her time across the border.
One Hindi entry, written after her return from Pakistan, reads: “After completing a 10-day journey through Pakistan, today I return to my country, India. We don’t know how long the distances of borders will remain, but may the grievances of hearts disappear. We all belong to the same land, the same soil.”
Malhotra not only praised the hospitality she received in Pakistan but also expressed hope that more Hindus would be able to visit their ancestral places. She had even requested Pakistani authorities to “protect the temples there and let Indians meet their families from whom they were separated in 1947.”
Describing her trip as “crazy” and “colourful”, Malhotra wrote that her experience was beyond words.
However, authorities have raised concerns over how she financed these trips, indicating that they may have been sponsored.
“Her known income sources do not justify her foreign travel. We suspect external funding. On the surface, she was just a travel blogger,” said Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan during a press briefing.
Police suspect that Malhotra was likely “developed as an asset” by Pakistani handlers. While she had no access to sensitive defence data, officials believe she was instructed to present Pakistan in a positive light through her content.
“In modern warfare, the enemy tries to set a positive narrative in its favour. The involvement of Malhotra suggests she helped them in setting narratives. This is how influencers and YouTubers are being roped in,” Sawan added.
Pakistan ‘spy’ network under scanner
Malhotra’s arrest is part of a larger crackdown on an alleged Pakistan-backed spy ring, with over a dozen individuals taken into custody, including four from Haryana.
Among the others arrested are Nauman Elahi, a security guard from Panipat; Devender Singh Dhillon from Kaithal; and Arman, a young man from Rajaka village in Nuh.
Investigators revealed that Arman, a Class XII dropout, was in touch with Pakistani handlers through a terror network. He allegedly procured Indian SIM cards using his own ID and supplied them to Pakistani intelligence officers.
In a more alarming revelation, Arman also attended a defence expo and is suspected to have shared sensitive details with Pakistani agencies. He was arrested on May 15 in Firozpur Jhirk.
Meanwhile, Malhotra’s five-day police custody concludes on Wednesday. She is expected to be produced before the Hisar court, where police will present the findings from her interrogation.
With input from agencies
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