Days after the Operation Sindoor, the Indian authorities have arrested six Indian nationals — including a Haryana-based travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra — for allegedly passing sensitive information to Pakistani operatives.
The network spanned across Haryana and Punjab, with key operatives acting as agents, financial conduits, and informants.
Among the accused is Jyoti Malhotra, who is a owner of YouTube channel “Travel with Jo”. Authorities have revealed that she visited Pakistan in 2023 after acquiring a visa through commission agents. During her trip, she developed close ties with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staff member at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
After last week’s hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s response, dubbed ‘Operation Sindoor’, Rahim had reportedly been declared persona non grata and asked to leave India within 24 hours for committing espionage and leaking sensitive information regarding the movements of the Indian Army.
Confession:
“In Pakistan, Ali Ahwan arranged a meeting with Pakistani security and intelligence officials and I met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. I took Shakir’s mobile number and saved it in my phone under the name of ‘Jat Randhawa’ to avoid suspicion. Then I came back to India and remained in constant touch with all the above people through platforms like WhatsApp, Snapchat and Telegram and started sharing anti-national information. I also met Rahim several times,” Officials quoted Malhotra as having told the police.
Meanwhile, Hisar DSP Kamaljeet Singh confirmed that some suspicious items were seized from Jyoti’s possession. She has been booked under relevant Sections and has been taken into five-day police custody.
