Haryana Based You Tuber Among 6 Arrested For Spying For Pakistan, Travel Blogger Jyoti Malhotra Linked To Pak Operatives
New Delhi: Six Indian nationals — including a Haryana-based travel blogger — have been arrested for allegedly passing sensitive information to Pakistani operatives. Among the accused is Jyoti Malhotra, who ran the YouTube channel “Travel with Jo”. Authorities revealed that she 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 staffer at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. On encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, Jyoti remained in touch with operatives, including Shakir alias Rana Shahbaz, whose number she saved as “Jatt Randhawa.”
Investigators say she also entered into an intimate relationship with a PIO and even travelled to Bali, Indonesia with him. During Danish’s stay in Delhi, she continued coordinating with him, further raising suspicions. Jyoti has been charged under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Aaprt from Jyoti, another key accused is Guzala, a 32-year-old widow from Malerkotla, Punjab. On February 27, 2025, Guzala visited the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to apply for a visa. There, she met Danish and began communicating with him regularly. Danish soon persuaded her to switch from WhatsApp to Telegram, claiming it was safer.
Over the time, Danish started sending money to Guzala — Rs 10,000 on March 7 via the payment app, PhonePe, and Rs 20,000 on March 23 via another payment app, Google Pay. He later instructed her to divert Rs 10,000 to specific recipients in parts: Rs 1,800, Rs 899, Rs 699, and Rs 3,000.
Others arrested in the case include Yameen Mohd from Malerkotla, who collaborated with the Danish in financial dealings and visa-related activities; Devinder Singh Dhillon from Kaithal, Haryana, a Sikh student who was recruited during a pilgrimage to Pakistan and sent videos of Patiala cantonment; and Arman from Nuh, Haryana, who supplied Indian SIM cards, transferred funds, and visited the Defence Expo 2025 on instructions from Pakistan Intelligence Operatives.
Officials have said to India Today that the case is part of a larger espionage operation, where vulnerable individuals from religious and social backgrounds were manipulated through emotional connections, monetary gifts, and fake promises of marriage. The accused have reportedly confessed to their roles, and further investigations are underway.