Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on espionage charges, has confessed to communicating with a Pakistani official prior to the April 22, 2025, terror attack in Pahalgam, according to Hisar police. The 33-year-old travel vlogger, known for her YouTube channel “Travel with Jo,” was allegedly in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, from November 2023 to March 2025. Hisar police spokesperson Vikas Kumar stated that Malhotra admitted to direct communication with Danish during this period.
Authorities suspect that Pakistani intelligence operatives were cultivating Malhotra as an intelligence asset. In addition to her interactions with Danish, Malhotra was reportedly in contact with several other YouTube influencers. Her three mobile phones and laptop, along with two phones belonging to Harkirat Singh, the IT in-charge of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, have been sent for forensic analysis. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are extensively questioning Malhotra about her alleged ties to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs).
Malhotra was arrested on May 16, 2025, under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. She is among 12 individuals apprehended over the past two weeks across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with an alleged Pakistan-linked espionage network operating in northern India. Police are preparing to present Malhotra before a local court on Wednesday to seek an extension of her remand for further interrogation.
