Jyoti Malhotra, a Haryana-based YouTuber arrested on espionage charges, was being developed as an “asset” by Pakistani intelligence operatives, police said on Sunday.
They said Malhotra had maintained ties with other YouTube influencers and Pakistani nationals.
"She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in contact with the Pakistan Information Officers (PIOs). She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips. She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the investigation is ongoing to establish any possible linkage," Shashank Kumar Sawan, Superintendent of Police (SP) Hisar, said.
#WATCH | Hisar | "They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra) as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs... She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips... She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the… pic.twitter.com/OD2wD1vzic
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2025
According to police, Malhotra was in touch with a Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan.
Sawan said Malhotra did not have any direct access to any information related to the military or defence operations, but she was directly in touch with PIOs.
"This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers,” he said.
The 33-year-old YouTuber was arrested on Saturday under the Official Secret Act and BNS Section 152. A local court has remanded her in police custody for five days.
During the preliminary investigation, the woman told the police that she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish. She also said that after exchanging numbers, she started talking to Ahsan-ur-Rahim and travelled twice to Pakistan.
It was Ahsan-ur-Rahim who arranged for her stay and travel and arranged meetings with Pakistani security and intelligence agencies.
"We are analysing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met," Sawan said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Police have started an investigation into the alleged links between a Puri-based YouTuber and Malhotra.
The police found that Malhotra had visited Puri in September 2024 and came in contact with a woman in the coastal town, who is also a YouTuber.
The woman in Puri had also travelled to Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan recently.
