Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, 33, arrested on espionage charges, was being groomed as an “asset” by Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs), Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan revealed on Sunday.

Malhotra, who runs the YouTube channel Travel with JO with over 377,000 subscribers, was detained on Friday in Hisar’s New Aggarsain Extension for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani handlers.

Sawan disclosed that Malhotra maintained contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a Pakistani High Commission official expelled on May 13 for espionage, during the India-Pakistan military standoff following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

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While she lacked direct access to military secrets, she was in touch with PIOs and other YouTube influencers linked to them, suggesting a broader network. “This is modern warfare, where influencers are recruited to push narratives,” Sawan said.

Booked under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for acts endangering India’s sovereignty, Malhotra is on a five-day police remand.

Authorities are analyzing her financial transactions, travel history, and electronic devices. She visited Pakistan twice in 2023, meeting Danish at the High Commission in Delhi for a visa, and later Ali Ahwan, who arranged her stays.

Her vlogs, including one from a 2023 Iftar party at the Pakistan High Commission, show her cordial ties with Danish, raising suspicions. Police suspect she used encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with operatives, including one saved as “Jatt Randhawa.”

Malhotra’s arrest follows similar detentions in Punjab and Haryana, part of a crackdown intensified by India’s Operation Sindoor. Her father, Haris Malhotra, denies the charges, claiming her trips were for content creation.

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