Who is Jyoti Malhotra, Haryana vlogger accused of spying for Pakistan?

Travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra reportedly maintained contact with a Pakistani official and shared sensitive Indian Army details

Jyoti Malhotra, a travel vlogger from Haryana, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly spying for Pakistan. The YouTuber, who runs the channel 'Travel With Jo', is accused of sharing sensitive Indian military information with Pakistani handlers.  Malhotra, who is also known online as Jyoti Rani, was booked under the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to acts endangering India's sovereignty and integrity.

 

Jyoti Malhotra was arrested from Hisar and remanded to police custody for five days, reported news agency PTI. Her laptop and mobile phone have reportedly yielded “suspicious” material, with investigators claiming she was in “continuous contact” with a Pakistani national.

 

Who is Jyoti Malhotra?

 

Malhotra is known for her solo travel content across India and abroad. Her YouTube channel and Instagram handle ‘travelwithjo1’, with over 1.3 lakh followers, feature videos from Pakistan, Indonesia, China, and Bhutan. Her content often highlights similarities between Indian and Pakistani cultures and cuisines — one reel captioned “Ishq Lahore” has now come under the scanner.  Her two trips to Pakistan — in 2023 and 2024 — have drawn scrutiny. During her first visit, she allegedly came in contact with Ahsan-ur-Rahim, a Pakistani official based in Delhi, who later introduced her to intelligence operatives. Malhotra reportedly kept in touch with these contacts upon returning to India and leaked sensitive information related to Indian Army movements.

 

How did Haryana police arrest her?

 

Hisar DSP Kamaljeet confirmed the arrest in a video statement, saying, “We have received some suspicious things after we recovered her mobile and laptop. She was in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.”

 

According to the police, Malhotra also travelled with one of the Pakistani handlers to Bali, Indonesia, and visited Kashmir in 2024, uploading videos from Dal Lake and the Srinagar-Banihal route.

 

Police said the espionage investigation is linked to a broader network exposed after India’s Operation Sindoor — a retaliatory move following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people.

 

Jyoti Malhotra's family denies charges

 

Malhotra’s father, Haris Kumar, defended her actions, saying she travelled for content creation with proper permissions. “She made YouTube videos... She used to visit Pakistan and other places. I don’t know how many times she went,” he told news agency ANI.

 

He accused the police of seizing phones, bank papers, and passports without clarity.

 

Larger crackdown in Haryana

 

Haryana’s Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapoor said Malhotra’s arrest is part of a larger crackdown on suspected spies across Panipat, Kaithal, and Hisar.

 

“They were active earlier too, but Operation Sindoor and increased vigilance led to their exposure,” Kapoor told reporters.  On Saturday, the state police arrested a 26-year-old man for sharing information related to the Indian Army and other military activities with Pakistan through an employee posted at the Pakistani high commission in Delhi. The suspect, Armaan, 26, is a resident of Nuh district.  (With inputs from agencies)