 "Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Rani was arrested on May 16 for allegedly spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies during Operation Sindoor. Image courtesy: Jyoti Malhotra")
The police have said that Pakistani handlers were developing YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra as an asset.
Earlier this month, the police arrested travel vlogger Jyoti on the charges of spying for Pakistan. She is among 12 persons who have been arrested espionage charges across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.
In the latest development, the police have found a diary at her house in which some intimate entries have been found, according to News 18 India.
Jyoti runs a YouTube channel named ‘Travel with JO’ and has hundreds of thousands of followers. Her visits to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China, and her alleged ties to Pakistani and Chinese officials are under the scanner.
Jyoti Malhotra’s diary entry under scanner
The police have found a diary at Jyoti’s home in which an entry mentions a number of medicines and says “love you” while mentioning one Savita, according to News 18.
The report said that it is being explored whether the medicines or other things listed in the entry are codewords.
“Tell Savita to bring fruits. Take care of home. I will be back soon,” the diary entry read.
Pakistani handlers were developing Jyoti Malhotra as asset: Police
Shashank Kumar Sawan, the SP of Haryana’s Hisar, has said that Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing Jyoti as an asset.
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View All“They were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers and they were also in touch with the PIOs [Pakistani intelligence operatives]…She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips…She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack and the investigation is on to establish linkages if there are any. We are also investigating as we have leads that other people were also involved with her," said Sawan, according to CNN-News 18.
The police have alleged that Jyoti was in touch with a Pakistani High Commission official in Delhi during the India-Pakistan conflict last week. The official was expelled from the country on May 13.
The police have alleged that Jyoti and others accused of espionage were passing on sensitive information to their Pakistani handlers. The police have said that their financial transactions are under the scanner and electronic devices are undergoing forensic analyses.