Haris Malhotra, father of Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on charges of espionage for Pakistan, questioned why his daughter couldn’t contact friends across the border during her trips. He emphasized thatJyoti had traveled to Pakistan for video shoots and found it unreasonable to restrict her communication.
Haris also claimed that the police confiscated phones belonging to the entire family and called for their return. “She has visited Pakistan to create content for YouTube. If she has friends there, why can’t she reach out? We have no demands but want our phones back,” he stated.
Additionally, he alleged that police had raided their home, seizing bank statements, a laptop, and passports. Haris insisted that Jyoti had obtained the necessary permissions for her travels to Pakistan.
THE JYOTI MALHOTRA CASE
Jyoti Malhotra, 33, was taken into custody by Haryana Police for allegedly spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies. She faces accusations of sharing sensitive information and maintaining continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.
As a travel vlogger with 377,000 YouTube subscribers and 133,000 Instagram followers, Jyoti is currently under a five-day police remand after being accused of providing sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
According to a registered FIR, Jyoti is said to have met a Pakistani national, Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, in 2023 while applying for a visa at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Danish, who worked at the mission, was expelled by India on May 13 for alleged espionage.
Jyoti’s channel, featuring her travels to Pakistan, includes videos titled ‘Indian Girl in Pakistan’ and ‘Exploring Lahore’. Police revealed that Jyoti made two trips to Pakistan, hosted by Ali Ahwan, who allegedly introduced her to Pakistani security and intelligence officials.
She is accused of meeting operatives Shakir and Rana Shahbaz, with the latter’s contact saved under the name “Jatt Randhawa” to conceal his identity. Communications with these individuals reportedly occurred over WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat, as per the FIR.
The complaint further claims that Jyoti met Danish multiple times at the High Commission and maintained contact with Pakistani intelligence.
