Who is Jyoti Malhotra, the YouTuber held for spying on India

A Haryana-based YouTuber has been arrested on the charge of passing on sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives, police said on Saturday.

Jyoti Malhotra, who runs a YouTube channel, Travel with JO, and hails from Hisar in Haryana, was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension, they said.

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

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

Jyoti, whose YouTube channel and Instagram account have 3.77 lakh subscribers and 1.33 lakh followers respectively, allegedly was in contact with a Pakistani staffer working at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. On May 13, India had expelled that Pakistani official for allegedly indulging in espionage.

Her YouTube channel account shows some videos regarding her visit to Pakistan -- 'Indian Girl in Pakistan', 'Indian Girl Exploring Lahore', 'Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple' and 'Indian Girl Rides Luxury Bus in Pakistan'.

She has made a total of 487 videos so far.

She has described herself as a 'Nomadic Leo Girl', 'Wanderer Haryanvi + Punjabi' and 'purane khayalon ki modern ladki' on her YouTube channel.

The content available in her social media accounts also reveal her interest in solo travel and biking, as per several media reports. He has travelled across India and other Asian countries, including Pakistan, Bhutan, Indonesia and China, the reports said.

She visited Pakistan twice, the first time in 2023 showing her visit to Lahore's Anarkali Bazaar, Katas Raj Temple, and a bus journey across the country. One of her videos posted on Instagram was captioned "Ishq (love) Lahore", wherein her content showed comparisons between Indian and Pakistani culture and coverage of Pakistani cuisine, media reports added.

Jyoti’s arrest

In 2023, Jyoti 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.

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

Ahwan arranged Jyoti's meeting with Pakistani Security and Intelligence officials and met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. She saved Shahbaz's mobile number as 'Jatt Randhawa' to avoid any suspicion.

She was in contact with these persons through WhatsApp, Telegram and Snapchat, and passed on sensitive information to them, according to the FIR, which was registered on the complaint of sub-inspector Bijender Singh.

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

Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra as an asset, said a senior Haryana police officer on Sunday.

(With PTI inputs)