Arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra used encrypted platforms to contact Pakistani agents, police has found digital evidence to this. She also used different means to keep her connections secret. According to media reports, officials said that there is fresh digital evidence against the travel vlogger who has been arrested on allegations of espionage.

Commonly used encrypted social media platforms like Snapchat, Telegram, and WhatsApp were used, the Haryana Police said. The 34-year-old social media influencer was arrested by Civil Lines Police in Haryana’s Hisar on May 17 on charges of spying for Pakistan under relevant provisions of the stringent Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Hisar’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Shashank Kumar told the media that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is assisting the probe into Jyoti Malhotra’s links with Pakistan. She was allegedly supplying on sensitive information to the ISI.

“Her social media videos were just a cover. She maintained multiple digital devices and used encrypted platforms to regularly keep in touch with Pakistani agents. Digital evidence to this effect has been found,” says a CNN-News18 report, quoting sources.

Two days after her arrest, Jyoti Malhotra aka Jyoti Rani’s Instagram account — which had 1.33 lakh subscribers — was blocked on Monday. 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.

Jyoti saved Pakistani contacts with misleading names – Pak agent Shakir was ‘Jat Randhawa’

During questioning by police, Jyoti has admitted to saving contact numbers of her Pakistani handlers under misleading names to avoid raising suspicion, a move investigators believe was a deliberate attempt to conceal her interactions with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives. Officials said her continued engagement with Pakistani intelligence operatives amounts to a breach under the Official Secrets Act and poses a threat to national security.

Jyoti also told cops that she had saved the number of a Pakistani agent, Shakir, as Jat Randhawa to avoid detection. Other Pakistani contacts like Ali Ahwan helped her with security cover while she was in Pakistan. She was also reportedly introduced to several intelligence officials during her visits to Pakistan.

Jyoti was honeytrapped by ISI agent working in India

It has also been revealed that Jyoti was honeytrapped by a Pakistani High Commission staff named Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, who is allegedly associated with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A day after her arrest, the Hisar police highlighted how Pakistani intel agencies were targeting social media influencers from India to paint a positive picture of the country and “push their narrative.” As per media reports, the duo had even travelled to Bali together. Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish appears to be her primary contact.

According to the FIR, Jyoti grew close to Danish a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, during her visit to Pakistan in 2023. Danish, who was expelled from India on May 13 after he was declared persona non grata, had allegedly introduced Jyoti to several Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs).

Jyoti’s father takes U-turn, says he was unaware about her trips to Pakistan

Daughter of a retired official from Haryana’s power distribution department, Jyoti Rani’s social media bios described her as a “Nomadic Leo Girl” and a modern Haryanvi-Punjabi traveller with “old ideas.” Her content showcased travel within India and abroad, including trips to Indonesia, China, and most notably, Pakistan.

During questioning, Jyoti told police that she was selected as part of a delegation to Pakistan in 2023. Ongoing police investigation has revealed that Jyoti Malhotra was in touch with multiple Pakistani nationals since 2023, when she first visited Pakistan.

Jyoti Malhotra’s father, Harish Malhotra has stated that he wasn’t aware of his daughter’s trips to Pakistan. While talking to ANI, he also said that he had no idea about her YouTube or other social media accounts.

“I didn’t know, she had told me that she was going to Delhi. She never told me anything. None of her friends visited our home…yesterday, the Police brought her here, she took her clothes and left, she did not say anything to me…I don’t know what to say,” Jyoti’s father told ANI on Monday.

“She used to make videos at home…I never said that she visited Pakistan, she used to tell me that she was going to Delhi…I have no demands, whatever is going to happen, will happen,” he further said.

This is a u-turn from his previous statement because after her arrest on Saturday her father had stated that Jyoti visited Pakistan to shoot videos.

“She made YouTube videos. She used to visit Pakistan and other places. 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,” Haris Malhotra had told ANI after Jyoti’s arrest.

#WATCH | Hisar, Haryana: Jyoti Malhotra, a resident of Haryana’s Hisar, has been arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.

Her father, Harish Malhotra, says, ” I didn’t know, she had told me that she was going… pic.twitter.com/OHuzg33P1S

— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2025