YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra Arrested for Alleged Links With Pakistan's Intelligence, Shared Sensitive Information of India

Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Hisar, has been arrested on charges of maintaining contact with Pakistani intelligence agencies and sharing sensitive Indian information. On Saturday, she was presented in the court of Judicial Magistrate Shri Sunil VII, where the police were granted five days of custody. She is scheduled to appear in court again on May 22.

DSP Headquarters Hisar, Kamaljeet, informed the media that during a raid, the police seized Jyoti’s laptop and mobile phone. Preliminary investigations suggest that she was sending confidential information to Pakistan through these devices. Forensic analysis of the recovered data is ongoing, and several crucial leads have been uncovered.

Jyoti was taken into custody from her residence on May 15 under the leadership of DSP Jitendra Kumar. The interrogation is now being conducted by a team from the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

The police claim that Jyoti had been in contact with Pakistani intelligence agencies for several years, using social media to spread anti-India propaganda and share sensitive information.

The 33-year-old Jyoti, a resident of New Agrasen Colony in Hisar, has studied up to BA and is unmarried. Reports indicate that she visited Pakistan three times—twice with groups of pilgrims and once to visit Kartarpur Sahib.

During her 2023 trip, she met Ehsan-ur-Raheem, alias Danish, an employee of the Pakistan High Commission, with whom she developed close ties. Through him, she gained access to ISI agents. She was not only promoting a positive image of Pakistan on social media but also sharing sensitive information. Jyoti was introduced to Pakistani Intelligence Officers (PIOs) through Danish and his associate Ali Ahsan, who facilitated her travel and stay in Pakistan. She had saved Ali Ahsan and Shakir, alias Rana Shahbaz, in her phone as ‘Jatt Randhawa.’

It is reported that she communicated with agents through encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, sharing information against India.

Jyoti also recently travelled to Bali, Indonesia, with a Pakistani official. She was tasked with promoting a positive image of Pakistan on social media and furthering anti-India activities.

On May 13, the Indian government declared Ehsan-ur-Raheem, alias Danish, ‘persona non grata’ and ordered him to leave the country. Prior to Jyoti’s arrest, three other Pakistani agents were arrested in Haryana last week—Noman Ilahi from Panipat, Devinder Singh from Kaithal, and Arman from Nuh. Arrests on espionage charges have also been made in Punjab’s Malerkotla and Jalandhar.

Security agencies are now working to connect these cases to uncover a larger network.