Who is Jyoti Malhotra, Travel YouTuber arrested for passing sensitive info to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Jyoti Malhotra , a travel vlogger and YouTuber from Hisar, Haryana, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani intelligence operatives .

Known online as “Travel with Jo,” she had visited Pakistan more than once and stayed in contact with Pakistani officials through messaging apps. Authorities say her actions violated the Official Secrets Act and posed a threat to national security.

Who is Jyoti Malhotra

• Jyoti Malhotra is a travel content creator from Hisar, Haryana.
• She runs a YouTube channel named Travel with Jo , which has over 377,000 subscribers.
• Her videos mainly feature international travel, including multiple vlogs from Pakistan.
• Her most recent videos from Pakistan were posted just last month.
• She presented herself as a cultural ambassador, aiming to show positive images of places she visited.
• She is currently in police custody, and further investigations are underway.

• A photo uploaded by Jyoti Malhotra on 22 March 2025 showed her with two other Indian YouTubers, claiming they were at the Pakistan High Commission.

According to the FIR and police officials, Jyoti had been in regular contact with Pakistani intelligence officers using WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat. She is accused of sharing sensitive information with them, which she allegedly tried to hide by saving their contact details under false names.

Investigators say her first visit to Pakistan was in 2023 as part of a delegation. During this trip, she reportedly met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish. Their communication continued after her return to India.

On a second visit, also at Ahsan’s suggestion, she met another person, Ali Ahsan, who introduced her to members of Pakistan’s intelligence network. Authorities allege that during this time, she began sending them sensitive data.

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra has been arrested by Hisar Police in a high-profile espionage case. She was reportedly in contact with a Pakistani High Commission officer named Danish, who allegedly facilitated her visit to Pakistan. Jyoti, who runs a travel channel, is accused of… pic.twitter.com/MOUlupAM6f

— IANS (@ians_india) May 17, 2025

Also read: Haryana student held in Kaithal for spying, sharing defence info with Pakistani handlers

This comes after Devinder Singh Dhillon, a political science student in Patiala, was arrested for spying for Pakistan. He reportedly admitted to passing sensitive information to handlers across the border.