New Delhi: What began as a wanderlust-driven digital journey has taken a dramatic and troubling turn. Jyoti Malhotra, a 33-year-old travel vlogger from Haryana’s Hisar is now at the centre of an espionage investigation involving Pakistan’s intelligence network.
Malhotra has been arrested under the Official Secrets Act and other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Haryana Police, in coordination with central intelligence agencies, claim she was being actively groomed by people linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Groomed by the ISI?
Hisar Superintendent of Police, Shashank Kumar Sawan, during a media briefing said that Malhotra was in constant contact with a Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
“Pakistan’s intelligence agency was certainly grooming Jyoti Malhotra as a contact. She was in touch with several individuals connected to Pakistani intelligence,” SP Sawan said. “This is also a kind of warfare—where the enemy pushes its narrative through social media influencers.”
According to reports, Malhotra had travelled to Pakistan at least twice and once to China. During one of her visa visits to the High Commission in 2023, she reportedly came into contact with a man identified as Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish. The FIR filed on May 16 at Civil Lines Police Station states that Danish introduced her to another Pakistani national, Ali Ahwan, who facilitated her stay in Pakistan and allegedly arranged meetings with intelligence-linked officials.
The digital trail
Malhotra’s communications reportedly continued through encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat. Investigators say these channels were used to pass on sensitive information, though the extent of the data shared remains under forensic examination.
While authorities clarified that Malhotra did not have access to classified military intelligence, her timing and movements raised serious flags. She visited Kashmir just before the Pahalgam attack and Pakistan before that.
A network of influence
One of the more alarming revelations is that Malhotra may not have been acting alone. SP Sawan confirmed that she was in touch with other Indian YouTubers and influencers who are now also under the scanner for possible links to Pakistani operatives.
“This is a layered network. Through Jyoti, we are identifying other Indian contacts. There is enough preliminary evidence to suggest a larger operation,” said the officer.
The Odisha Police has also launched a parallel probe after it was discovered that Malhotra visited Puri in September 2024 and met a female YouTuber believed to be part of the same network.
Jyoti Malhotra has been remanded to five days of police custody.
