Haryana YouTuber had been in touch with Pakistani staffer since 2023: Police

Jailed YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra had been in contact with a Pakistani officer since 2023, police revealed on Wednesday.

Malhotra, behind bars on suspicion of espionage, had been in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, the Pakistani staffer at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023, a source said.

Danish was expelled by India on May 13 for allegedly indulging in espionage.

Police have sent Malhotra’s three mobile phones and a laptop for forensic examination, the person said.

The National Investigation Agency, Intelligence Bureau, and military intelligence officials have questioned Jyoti.

So far, it’s been revealed that she had visited Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and some other countries.

The 33-year-old Hisar native ran a YouTube channel ‘Travel with JO’ and was arrested from the New Aggarsain Extension last week.

She was booked under sections of the Official Secrets Act and BNS, police said.

Malhotra is among 12 persons who have been arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on charges of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India.

Police had earlier said Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs) were developing Malhotra as an asset.

She was also allegedly in touch with Danish during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, police said.

Malhotra, whose YouTube channel has at present 3.87 lakh subscribers, came in contact with Danish at the Pakistan High Commission in 2023, when she went there seeking a visa.

According to investigations, PIOs were trying to recruit some social media influencers in India to push their narrative.

Meanwhile, the Hisar police on Wednesday said they had seized three mobile phones, a laptop and some other electronic devices from Malhotra.

A resident of Kurukshetra, who provides visa consultancy services, was also recently questioned by police in connection with the investigation. Police said they seized two mobile phones from him.

Police said no evidence has yet emerged that indicates that Malhotra had access to any military- or defence-related information.

Malhotra’s four bank accounts are also being analysed, they said.

No proof has also yet come to light regarding Malhotra’s marriage with any PIO or conversion to another religion.

Meanwhile, YouTuber Navankur Chaudhary, another person under scrutiny for espionage, has said that he was ready to fully cooperate with any investigation agency and asserted that a fake narrative was being spread against him.

Chaudhary, who hails from Rohtak, has also claimed that Malhotra had met him as a fan at an event at Pakistan High Commission.

“I did not know Jyoti personally before that day. I had never met her earlier,” he said.

In a video on X, Chaudhary, who runs the YouTube channel ‘Yatri Doctor’, said he has visited Pakistan just once.

His father said on Wednesday, “A media trial is going on. Our entire family is going through a tough time. I am a bank employee, but have been unable to attend office due to this. Both me and his (Navankur) mother have not had food for the past two days.”

The man added, “So far, he has visited 144 countries and his objective is to visit the entire world and he visited Pakistan once. At present, he is in Ireland.”