Haryana YouTuber was being developed as an 'asset' by Pakistani intelligence operatives: Police

Chandigarh: Pakistani intelligence operatives were allegedly developing Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on espionage charges, as an asset, said a senior Haryana police officer on Sunday.

She was allegedly in touch with a Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, the officer said addressing mediapersons in Hisar, Haryana.

Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan said Malhotra did not have any direct access to any information related to the military or defence operations which could be said at this stage that she could have shared. But she was directly in touch with PIOs, he said.

"Certainly, they were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs," the SP said.

"This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers," he said.

Hisar-based Malhotra (33), who runs a YouTube channel, 'Travel with JO', was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension on Friday, they said.

She has been booked under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.

She was sent to a five-day police remand after being produced before the court on Saturday.

SP Sawan told reporters that Malhotra is being questioned by Haryana Police. "We are analysing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met," he said, adding that the police are also in touch with the central agencies.

The officer said Malhotra was in touch with PIOs, and that she has visited Pakistan "multiple times" and China once.

Asked about any information on her movements during the Pahalgam terror attack and whether she was in contact with the Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistani High Commission during Operation Sindoor, the SP said during the (India-Pakistan) conflict, she was "in touch with the PIOs and the person who was declared persona non grata".

"We will do a forensic analysis of her laptop and other electronic gadgets. It will then be clear what information she shared," he said.

On May 13, India expelled the Pakistani official working at the High Commission for allegedly indulging in espionage.

Replying to a question, he said multiple teams of financial experts were analysing her financial transactions and travel details.

In 2023, Malhotra came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish at the Pakistan High Commission where she went to seek a visa to visit the neighbouring nation, according to an FIR lodged at Civil Lines Police Station on May 16.

Malhotra, who visited Pakistan twice, had met Danish's acquaintance Ali Ahwan who arranged her stay there, the FIR read.

She met Danish several times at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi and was found to be in touch with PIOs, it said.

Her arrest came days after Punjab Police arrested two persons, including a woman, from Malerkotla district in Punjab for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to the Pakistani official posted at the High Commission.