Chandigarh: Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on espionage charges, as an asset, a senior Haryana police officer claimed on Sunday, May 18.
She was allegedly 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 that followed the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, the officer said.
Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan said Malhotra did not have any direct access to any information related to the military or defence operations, which could be said at this stage that she could have shared.
But she was directly in touch with PIOs, he said addressing mediapersons in Hisar, Haryana.
“Certainly, they were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs,” the SP said.
“This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers,” he said.
The YouTuber is being questioned by the Haryana Police. “We are analysing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met,” SP Sawan said, adding that the police are also in touch with the central agencies.
“We will do a forensic analysis of her laptop and other electronic gadgets. It will then be clear what information she shared,” he added.
The officer said the YouTuber has been to Pakistan on what appeared to be “a sponsored trip”. In one of her videos, she was requesting a visa to visit China, he said.
“She went to Kashmir before the Pahalgam attack and visited Pakistan before that. We are trying to establish the “link” between these visits. Police are trying to look into who was being provided with “information,” SP Sawan said.
Asked about one of Malhotra’s videos in which she could be seen visiting the Pakistani Embassy on March 28, 2024, the SP said, “Socialisation is allowed, but one should understand their intentions. Pakistan is not a not a normal country for us.”
He said the YouTuber had allegedly met some high-profile people in Pakistan. “Why did she meet them and what information she shared with them — all of this will be asked,” he said, adding that she has been on the radar of intelligence agencies for quite some time.
The SP refused to share details of any chat between Danish and Malhotra, saying it was a sensitive matter. “We are investigating the case from all angles,” he added.
Odisha Police have started an investigation into the alleged links between a Puri-based YouTuber and Jyoti Malhotra. The state’s police said on Sunday that Malhotra allegedly visited Puri in September 2024 and came in contact with a female YouTuber from the coastal town.
Malhotra, whose YouTube channel and Instagram account have 3.77 lakh subscribers and 1.33 lakh followers respectively, allegedly was in contact with the Pakistani staffer working at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.
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