Jyoti Malhotra’s journey from travel YouTuber to Pakistani spy has opened up a new arena of modern warfare where intel agencies reel in influencers from another country and use them to shape the narrative. It is also about how the lure of quick money and a multicolored lifestyle was influential enough to lure an influencer into such tricky waters. The YouTuber was arrested on Friday for alleged espionage and was remanded for 5 days.
The Race To Become An Influencer
Post-COVID pandemic, the content creation universe is now saturated and increasingly competitive. As more people pursue the same goals as content creators in the hope of becoming influencers, they find themselves on an unending treadmill of race for likes and views. To feed the machine, they must generate new content consistently. To create that content, they need connectivity and a supply chain.
The Pak Link Of Jyoti Malhotra
She had visited about eight countries, including China and Pakistan. Over the years, police say Jyoti came in contact with Pakistani intelligence officers and was being cultivated as an asset.
According to Hisar’s Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan, Jyoti Malhotra’s direct access to any information regarding the military or defence establishment might have been limited, but she was in contact with officials in Pakistan. “Certainly, they were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs (public information officers),” the senior police officer told the media. “This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers.”
How She Encountered A Pak Officer
The officer they identified as being Danish was in contact with Jyoti Malhotra, who was in contact with a Pakistani officer named Danish, on the four-day military conflict that occurred before India launched Operation Sindoor to seek revenge for the Pahalgam terror incident in which 26 innocent Indians were killed.
Her various travels to Pakistan drew their attention. Police have also confiscated her phones and gadgets as they investigate her contacts. She also visited the Pakistani embassy last March and uploaded a video. “Socialisation is allowed, but one should understand their intentions. Pakistan is not a normal country for us. Undertaking multiple visits, socialising and remaining in touch with them during the conflict and exchanging favours endangers the unity and sovereignty of the country,” Mr Sawan said.
The Pak Meetings
Jyoti has told police that Danish was friendly when they first met, and they started communicating on the phone. In 2023, she attended Pakistan with a 10-day visa. Danish encouraged her to meet his contact, Ali Ahwaan, who arranged her travel and stay. Jyoti Malhotra went to high-profile parties in Pakistan, which police have determined.
“In Pakistan, Ali Ahwan arranged a meeting with Pakistani security and intelligence officials, and I met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. I took Shakir’s mobile number and saved it in my phone under the name of ‘Jat Randhawa’ to avoid suspicion. Then I came back to India and remained in constant touch with all the above people through platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Telegram and started sharing information,” officials quoted Malhotra as saying.
The Money Trail
The officer stated that police are in the process of interviewing Jyoti Malhotra. “We are looking at her financial dealings, her travel, where she went and who she met,” he said, while also adding that Haryana police were cooperating with central agencies. Police have also found that Jyoti Malhotra has a lavish lifestyle, which is not apparent from her source of income, and that this too is being examined. She always travelled First Class on the flights, stayed in posh hotels, and ate in swank restaurants. Police said she has travelled to Pakistan on a “sponsored trip”.
Not long after she returned from Pakistan, where she appeared to have enjoyed VIP treatment, Jyoti Malhotra travelled to China. In China, too, she had the luxury of being transported in luxury vehicles, and she returned to expensive jewellery shops. Those lavish trips and questionable meetings put the YouTuber on the security grid.
Pahalgam And Op Sindoor
On May 13, India kicked out the Danish for allegedly being spies. Two days later, Jyoti was arrested. When asked if the YouTuber had spoken with her Pakistani contacts during Operation Sindoor, the police officer stated that she was “in touch with the PIOs and the person who was declared persona non grata”. “We will do a forensic analysis of her laptop and other electronic gadgets. It will then be clear what information she shared,” he said. In one of her videos, she was asking for a visa to visit China, he said. Mr Sawan said Jyoti went to Kashmir before the Pahalgam attack and had also visited Pakistan before that. He said the police are also trying to see if there was a connection to these travel trips.
Jyoti May Not Be Alone
Police have said that Jyoti Malhotra could be just one of many influencers who are communicating with Pakistani officials. “Through her, we are also investigating other Indian contacts. We have some leads that some more could be involved. Odisha Police are investigating a Puri YouTuber who met Jyoti Malhotra when she visited the coastal temple town last year.
Puri police chief Vinit Agrawal has said police are now verifying the facts. “After the verification is complete, we will put forward all the facts. Along with this, we are in touch with different agencies of different states, central agencies, Haryana Police, and we will provide whatever information they need from us.”
Priyanka Senapati, the Puri YouTuber Jyoti met, has said she was unaware of the allegations against her. “Jyoti was only a friend, and I came into contact with her through YouTube. I was completely unaware of the serious charges against her. Had I known she was spying for an enemy country, I would have never maintained any contact with her,” she wrote.
What Jyoti’s Father Said
Jyoti’s father, Haris Malhotra, said she visited Pakistan to shoot YouTube videos and went after getting necessary permissions. “She used to visit Pakistan and other places to shoot videos for YouTube,” Mr Malhotra told ANI. Responding to allegations that she was in touch with Pakistani officials, he said, “If she has some friends there, can’t she call them? I have no demands, but give us our phones. A case has been registered against us.” The YouTuber has been charged under the Official Secrets Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
