A well-known travel influencer from Haryana, Jyoti Rani, popularly known online as Jyoti Malhotra, has been arrested for allegedly passing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives. The arrest, carried out under Operation Sindoor, has brought to light the growing use of digital influencers in cross-border espionage activities.
Police arrested Rani from the New Aggarwal Extension area in Hisar, where she was booked under the Official Secrets Act (Sections 3 and 5) and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers actions that threaten the integrity and sovereignty of India. A court has remanded her to five days of police custody while interrogation continues.
Known for her YouTube channel Travel with Jo, Rani had built a strong following with over 3.77 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 1.32 lakh followers on Instagram under the handle travelwithjo1. Her social media bios described her as a “Nomadic Leo Girl” and a modern Haryanvi-Punjabi traveller with “old ideas.” Her content often showcased travel within India and abroad, including trips to Indonesia, China, and most notably, Pakistan.
Vlogger Met Pak Handler in 2023: Cops
Investigators claim Rani made three visits to Pakistan after obtaining visas through intermediaries in 2023. During her first visit, she allegedly came into contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, a Pakistani diplomat stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Their interactions reportedly became personal, and Ehsan introduced her to Pakistani intelligence handlers.
Authorities said she communicated with these operatives using encrypted platforms such as Telegram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. To avoid detection, she stored their contacts under fake names one such alias being “Jatt Randhawa.” In one case, she is believed to have travelled to Bali, Indonesia with one of her handlers.
One of the major triggers for her arrest was a series of travel vlogs from Lahore posted earlier this year. These featured her crossing the Attari-Wagah border, visiting Anarkali Bazaar, touring the Katas Raj Hindu Temple, and sampling local cuisine. Captions like “Ishq Lahore,” written in Urdu, accompanied several posts. Authorities claim that these videos were strategically designed to promote a positive image of Pakistan under instructions from foreign operatives.
Vlogger Revealed Names of Pakistani Nationals She Met
Police sources confirmed that during questioning, Rani disclosed names of Pakistani nationals she met while abroad, including Ali Ahwan, who arranged her local stay, and intelligence officers Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. She reportedly saved their numbers in her phone using pseudonyms and stayed in regular contact even after returning to India.
Apart from her foreign travels, Rani had also posted content from sensitive Indian regions. In 2024, she uploaded videos from Kashmir, including a shikara ride in Dal Lake and a train journey from Srinagar to Banihal. One of her latest videos commented on the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives and led to India launching Operation Sindoor. In the caption, she asked: “Shall we visit Kashmir again?”
Her family background reveals she previously worked in Gurugram, but left her job during the Covid-19 pandemic to pursue content creation full-time. Her father, Harish Kumar Malhotra, is a retired employee of the Haryana Electricity Board. She reportedly left her Hisar home on May 6, telling her parents she was headed to Delhi, before her arrest days later.
India Expels Pak Diplomats Over Spy Row
Following this incident, diplomatic tensions escalated as the Indian government expelled Ehsan-ur-Rahim on May 13, 2025, declaring him persona non grata. His removal was part of India’s efforts to reduce diplomatic contact with Pakistan amid increasing allegations of espionage.
This arrest follows another earlier in the week where a 24-year-old man named Nauman Elahi, working as a security guard at a blanket factory in Panipat, was apprehended for sharing confidential data with Pakistani contacts. He hailed from Uttar Pradesh and had allegedly maintained contact with handlers across the border.
Authorities believe Rani’s case is just the tip of a much wider intelligence operation that targets influencers and low-level workers in strategic regions like Punjab and Haryana, exploiting their digital reach and geographic access. Investigations are ongoing as agencies uncover more links within this network.
