Content Creation or Digital Warfare? You Tuber Jyoti Malhotra's vlogging, diaries, chats show her connections with Pak ISI

New Delhi, May 21

From creating content on Internet via vlogging to landing in the net of Pakistan intelligence that groomed her as a “spy” in the Indian continent, Jyoti Malhotra is an example of social media influencer work was a cover that has been brutally blown!

Not only her photographs with the expelled Pakistan High Commission Ehsaan-ur-rahim alias Danish raised eyebrows but the Haryana Police that arrested Malhotra have grabbed her phone, gadgets, diaries containing scores of information on how her connection with Danish turned the story upside down for her. 

Jyoti, who ran the YouTube channel 'Travel with JO', was arrested from the New Aggarsain Extension in Haryana's Hisar on May 16. 10 others from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were arrested over the past two weeks on charges of espionage.

The Haryana Police have been investigating the case of Jyoti while the intelligence agencies and even National Investigation Agency have grilled her for several hours. 

The police have recovered her personal diary that reportedly contains detailed entries about her thoughts and travels, some of which directly reference her time across the border. It has come to the fore that she had praised the hospitality she received in Pakistan and expressed hope that more Indian Hindus could visit their ancestral sites there. She also wrote about her wish for easier access to religious places-including temples and gurdwaras-and a desire to reconnect with families separated during the 1947 Partition. 

However, the diaries so far haven't showed any particular information related to national security of threat. 

The police have also found certain Pakistani contacts on her phone renamed, a part of the strategy to ensure she could evade detection. 

Apparently, Jyoti travelled to Pakistan by giving an excuse to her family that she as travelling to Delhi. She also travelled a few times to Kashmir and vlogged about it. She had visited Kashmir before the recent Pahalgam attack and even made a video later after the incident blaming the security agencies. 

Jyoti used to be frequently accompanied by Priyanka Setupati from Puri, Odisha. Investigative agencies have already questioned Setupati regarding her involvement or knowledge of Jyoti Malhotra's activities.

The Hisar Police hve succeeded in establishing her connection with Pak intel officials while he gadgets like phone containing chats and messages and her four bank acount details are being probed. The forensics are analysing her chats. 

While she is not believed to have had direct access to military operations, she allegedly was in communication with Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs).

Jyoti first visited Pakistan in 2023 during the 324th Vaisakhi Festival, is now under investigation by Indian intelligence agencies for allegedly aiding cross-border influence operations.

Each year, thousands of Sikh pilgrims travel to Pakistan's holy sites - Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib, Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore - through an arrangement between the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board.

Her second visit to the 325th Vaisakhi Festival in April 2024 triggered further concern. Not only did she return to Pakistan, but she also overstayed by more than a month - from April 17 to May 25. Investigators believe this period marked her deeper involvement in a Pakistani influence network operated through diplomatic and digital channels.

Ehsan, officially named Ehsan Dar, was operating under diplomatic cover but was suspected by Indian agencies of acting as an ISI intelligence coordinator. Ehsan Dar was posted as consular and cultural staff at the Pakistan High Commission. Internal surveillance flagged his consistent interactions with influencers, journalists and YouTubers. His method relied on visa help, cultural liaisons or interviews to develop rapport and gain influence.

The investigators believe that she became a part of a covert influence campaign that involved portraying Pakistan in a highly positive light. Her videos praising Pakistan's hospitality, infrastructure and culture were seen as components of a modern psychological warfare strategy. 

She came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish in 2023 at the Pakistan High Commission while seeking a visa. She claimed to be a part of a ‘delegation’ visiting Pakistan. It was then, it is alleged, that she was made to meet one Ali Ahsan, believed to be working for the intelligence. 

Following her extended stay in Pakistan, Jyoti visited several other countries - China, Nepal, Bangladesh, the UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bhutan, which are now scrutiny. 

On May 13, India expelled Ehsan for alleged involvement in espionage. 

Jyoti met Ehsan several times and even had allegedly had an intimate relationship with him. The duo had travelled to Bali together. Jyoti had met Ehsan again on May 6 before Operation Sindoor. 

SP Hisar Shashank Kumar Sawan stated that modern warfare is not only fought on the border. The PIOs are trying to recruit some social media influencers, and they use that to push their narrative. We received inputs from the central agencies, and we arrested Jyoti Malhotra. She had visited Pakistan multiple times and China once. She was in contact with the PIOs. The Hisar police are analysing her financial details. During the conflict (Indo-Pak), she was in touch with the PIOs. Her travel details are defying her total income.

The investigation has also revealed that Guzala (31), arrested by Punjab Police from Malerkotla on similar charges, met Ehsan at the Pakistan High Commission while applying for a visa. Guzala and Yameen Mohammad, both Malerkotla residents, were arrested on May 11 for allegedly sharing sensitive information and images of Army cantonments and airbases with Pakistani intelligence. They were paid online for passing classified information.

Whether Jyoti Malhotra is a spy or a woman who has been honey trapped by Pakistan ISI and groomed to hunt and deliver sensitive information from India to Pakistan, will be disclosed only after the investigators unfold the entire truth. However, Haryana Police have termed this case as a case of “modern digital warfare” and espionage.