Jyoti Malhotra’s Odisha Link: Cops Probe Puri-Based YouTuber, Guest House
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Jyoti Malhotra’s Odisha Link: Cops Probe Puri-Based YouTuber, Guest House
Odisha YouTuber Priyanka Senapati’s bank account and contact with travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra are being investigated. Ms MalHotra was arrested last week from Haryana for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer Ahsan-ur-Rahim when she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa. She also travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information, according to police. Her YouTube channel ‘Travel With Jo’, which has 3,94,000 subscribers, has videos of her visits to Pakistan from September 2022, April 2024 and March this year. She has 14,800 subscribers on the channel, which shows her travels within Odisha and to other parts of country.
Ms Senapati’s bank account and her contact with Ms Malhotra, who was arrested last week from Haryana, are being investigated. This comes days after she issued a clarification that the travel vlogger was her friend and they came into contact on YouTube. “I was completely unaware of the serious charges against her. Had I known she was spying for an enemy country, I would have never maintained any contact with her,” she wrote.
Police is also probing the communication between the two women, with all of Ms Senapati’s social media accounts being investigated. She and her family have faced multiple rounds of questioning, where she was asked about her relationship with Ms Malhotra and the personal or local intelligence shared between the two.
Priyanka’s father Rajkishore Senapati told ANI that his daughter came into contact with Ms Malhotra through social media and helped her during the latter’s visit to Puri around seven to eight months back in 2024. He said Ms Senapati had visited Kartarpur in Pakistan four months ago, a video of which was uploaded on March 25 on her YouTube channel ‘Prii_vlogs’ with the title “Odia Girl in Pakistan | Kartarpur Corridor Guide | Odia Vlog”. She has 14,800 subscribers on the channel, which shows her travels within Odisha and to other parts of the country.
Also Read | Sufism, Seduction, And Pak ISI: The Double Life Of Diplomat Madhuri Gupta
Also under scrutiny is the Jagannath Bhakt Niwas guest house, where Ms Malhotra stayed during her visit to Puri in September last year. The property’s manager said she arrived at the accommodation on September 21 with another woman and stayed for a day. “No one had come to meet her. She did not stay in the room for long, and would just come and go out after some time,” the manager said.
Puri Superintendent of Police Vinit Agrawal said a verification of all information, including financial transactions, is underway in the ongoing espionage investigation.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) CID Crime Branch, Sarthak Sarangi, said that facts are being verified. “She (Ms Malhotra) also visited Chilika and Konark. She was in touch with a YouTuber from Odisha. We are verifying all the facts. We are in touch with our counterparts in Haryana regarding Jyoti Malhotra.”
Ms Malhotra was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer Ahsan-ur-Rahim when she went to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information, according to police. Officials said that the woman also told during investigation that Ahsan-ur-Rahim arranged for her stay and travel and arranged meetings with Pakistani security and intelligence agencies.
Ms Malhotra was among 12 people who were arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on charges of espionage, with investigators pointing at an alleged Pakistan-linked spy network operating in northern India. Her YouTube channel ‘Travel With Jo’, which has 3,94,000 subscribers, has videos of her visits to Pakistan from September 2022, April 2024 and March this year.
With inputs from Dev Kumar
Rupali Ganguly Reacts To Jyoti Malhotra’s Arrest Over ‘Spying’ For Pakistan: “Not A Single One Should Be Spared”
Jyoti Malhotra is a travel vlogger from Haryana who runs a YouTube channel called ‘Travel With Jo’ Her Instagram handle, ‘travelwithjo1’, has 1.37 lakh followers. She is accused of sharing sensitive Indian Army movement and location details as part of an espionage network spanning HaryANA and Punjab. Popular television actress Rupali Ganguly has reacted to the YouTuber’s arrest strongly. She wrote, “Such people do not even realize when their love for Pakistan turns into hatred for India”
Sharing a screenshot of the news on X, Rupali wrote, “Such people do not even realize when their love for Pakistan turns into hatred for India. Initially they talk about ‘Aman Ki Aasha’ and ends up hating India.
Don’t know how many such people are secretly working against the country, not a single one should be spared. #JyotiMalhotra”
Such people do not even realize when their love for Pakistan turns into hatred for India. Initially they talk about ‘Aman Ki Aasha’ and ends up hating India.
Don’t know how many such people are secretly working against the country, not a single one should be spared.… pic.twitter.com/exL0qZLdZc — Rupali Ganguly (@TheRupali) May 17, 2025
Jyoti Malhotra is a travel vlogger from Haryana who runs a YouTube channel called ‘Travel With Jo’. Her Instagram handle, ‘travelwithjo1’, has 1.37 lakh followers.
Around two months ago, she posted multiple videos and reels from Pakistan, showing her visit to Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar, Katas Raj Temple, and a bus journey across the country.
One of her Instagram captions read “Ishq (love) Lahore”, and her content included comparisons between Indian and Pakistani culture and coverage of Pakistani cuisine.
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In 2023, Jyoti Malhotra visited Pakistan for the first time using a visa arranged through commission agents, during which she came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. She later developed close ties with Rahim, who introduced her to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Ms Malhotra allegedly remained in touch with these handlers after returning to India and is accused of sharing sensitive Indian Army movement and location details as part of an espionage network spanning Haryana and Punjab.
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Cops Say Haryana YouTuber Was Groomed As A Pak Asset. How She Was Lured
Jyoti Malhotra, 33, has 3.85 lakh subscribers on her YouTube channel ‘Travel With Jo’ Her bio describes her as “Nomadic Leo Girl, Wanderer Haryanvi + Punjabi” The YouTuber was arrested on Friday on espionage charges and remanded in custody for five days. Jyoti came in touch with Pakistani information officers and was being developed as an asset, police have said. Police have also seized her phones and other gadgets as part of their investigation into her links. She had travelled to about eight countries, including China and Pakistan. Her multiple trips to Pakistan brought her under the radar. Police are analysing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met. She always travelled first class on flights, stayed in plush hotels and dined in high-end restaurants. She also attended high-profile parties in Pakistan. Police said she was “in touch” with the person who declared her a spy during Operation Sindoor.
The Influencer Race
Following the Covid pandemic, the content creation universe has turned saturated and increasingly competitive. As more and more people take to content creation with the dream of becoming an influencer, they get drawn into a relentless race for ‘likes’ and views. To keep the momentum up, they must create fresh content consistently. And to do that, they need connections and resources.
Jyoti Malhotra, 33, has 3.85 lakh subscribers on her YouTube channel ‘Travel With Jo’. Her bio describes her as “Nomadic Leo Girl, Wanderer Haryanvi + Punjabi” and a “modern woman with old-school ideas”. Her YouTube account has videos and reels of travel in which she describes her experiences.
Jyoti Malhotra’s Pak Link
She had travelled to about eight countries, including China and Pakistan. Over time, Jyoti came in touch with Pakistani information officers and was being developed as an asset, police have said.
According to Hisar’s Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan, Jyoti Malhotra did not have direct access to any information related to the military or defence operations that she could have shared, but she was in touch with Pakistani officials. “Certainly, they were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs (public information officers),” the senior police officer told the media. “This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers.”
How She Met Pak Officer
Jyoti Malhotra was in touch with Pakistani officer Danish posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day military conflict after India launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 innocents dead, the officer said.
Her multiple trips to Pakistan brought her under the radar. Police have also seized her phones and other gadgets as part of their investigation into her links. In March last year, she visited the Pakistani embassy and uploaded a video. “Socialisation is allowed, but one should understand their intentions. Pakistan is not a normal country for us. Undertaking multiple visits, socialising and remaining in touch with them during the conflict and exchanging favours endangers the unity and sovereignty of the country,” Mr Sawan said.
The Pak Meetings
Jyoti has told police that Danish befriended her in their first meeting and they started talking over the phone. In 2023, she got a 10-day visa to visit Pakistan. Danish asked her to meet his acquaintance, Ali Ahwaan, who arranged for her travel and stay. In Pakistan, Jyoti Malhotra attended high-profile parties, police have found.
“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 information,” officials quoted Malhotra as saying.
The Money Trail
The officer said police are currently questioning Jyoti Malhotra. “We are analysing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met,” he said, adding that Haryana police is also coordinating with central agencies. Police have also found that Jyoti Malhotra has a lavish lifestyle, not in line with her income and are investigating this aspect too. She always travelled first class on flights, stayed in plush hotels and dined in high-end restaurants. Police said she appears to have visited Pakistan on a “sponsored trip”.
Shortly after her return from Pakistan, where she got VIP treatment, Jyoti Malhotra travelled to China. In China, too, she travelled in luxury cars and visited expensive jewellery shops. The lavish trips and suspicious meetings put the YouTuber on the security radar.
Pahalgam and Op Sindoor
On May 13, India expelled Danish for allegedly indulging in espionage. Two days later, Jyoti was arrested. Asked if the YouTuber spoke to her Pakistani contacts during Operation Sindoor, the police officer said she was “in touch with the PIOs and the person who was declared persona non grata”. “We will do a forensic analysis of her laptop and other electronic gadgets. It will then be clear what information she shared,” he said. In one of her videos, she was requesting a visa to visit China, he said. Mr Sawan said Jyoti went to Kashmir before the Pahalgam attack and visited Pakistan before that. He said police are also trying to find if there was a link between these trips.
Jyoti May Not Be Alone
Police have said Jyoti Malhotra could be one of several influencers in touch with Pakistani officials. “Through her, we are also investigating other Indian contacts. We have some leads that some more could be involved. Odisha Police are investigating a Puri YouTuber who met Jyoti Malhotra when she visited the coastal temple town last year.
Puri police chief Vinit Agrawal has said police are now verifying the facts. “After the verification is complete, we will put forward all the facts. Along with this, we are in touch with different agencies of different states, central agencies, Haryana Police and we will provide whatever information they need from us.”
Priyanka Senapati, the Puri YouTuber Jyoti met, has said she was unaware of the allegations against her. “Jyoti was only a friend, and I came into contact with her through YouTube. I was completely unaware of the serious charges against her. Had I known she was spying for an enemy country, I would have never maintained any contact with her,” she wrote.
What Jyoti’s Father Said
Jyoti’s father Haris Malhotra said she visited Pakistan to shoot YouTube videos and went after getting necessary permissions. “She used to visit Pakistan and other places to shoot videos for YouTube,” Mr Malhotra told ANI. Responding to allegations that she was in touch with Pakistani officials, he said, “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.” The YouTuber has been charged under the Official Secrets Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“Get Me Married”: The Conversation Between ‘Spy’ YouTuber And ISI Handler
Jyoti Malhotra was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s ISI agency. WhatsApp chats revealed personal and coded discussions over undercover ops. One of the chats showed MalHotra telling Hasan, “Get me married in Pakistan”, which hinted at her emotional connection with Islamabad. She had visited Pakistan twice, during which she had come into contact with an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Back in India, she had remained in touch with her Pakistani handlers and allegedly shared sensitive information on the Indian Army’s movement with them. Her father had initially claimed that she had made the trip to shoot videos in Pakistan.
A purported conversation between travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra and a Pakistani intelligence officer has surfaced, highlighting the former’s link with Islamabad, as the police in India continue to probe the YouTuber for allegedly spying for the neighbouring country.
Malhotra, who lived in Haryana’s Hisar and ran a YouTube channel called ‘Travel with Jo’, was arrested last week. Sources suggest she was in constant touch with Ali Hasan, who worked for the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the spy agency of Pakistan that acts as a fulcrum in their military-terror nexus. The two used to talk a lot, they said.
Officials have now found a WhatsApp conversation between the 33-year-old YouTuber and Hasan. One of the chats showed Malhotra telling Hasan, “Get me married in Pakistan”, which hinted at her emotional connection with Islamabad.
Read: ‘Spy’ YouTuber’s Bangladesh Connection Emerges, She Was Planning A Visit
Reports suggest that the WhatsApp chats also revealed several coded conversations between the two, specifically those related to undercover operations of India.
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During the investigation, the police have found information about four bank accounts belonging to Malhotra, said police sources. Transactions from Dubai were also found in one of the accounts.
The agencies are now going through all of her bank accounts to find out where she was receiving money.
Malhotra, who has over a lakh followers on Instagram, had visited Pakistan twice, during which she had come into contact with Rahim, an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. Rahim had later introduced her to the Pakistani intelligence operatives.
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Read: The Woman Who Betrayed India: Diplomat-Spy Madhuri Gupta’s Fall From Grace
Back in India, she had remained in touch with her Pakistani handlers and allegedly shared sensitive information on the Indian Army’s movement with them.
Her father had initially claimed that she had made the trip to shoot videos in Pakistan. Changing his version recently, he said she had informed him of going to Delhi, and not Pakistan.
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Malhotra is among the dozen-odd individuals who have been arrested in the past week for alleged espionage amid heightened surveillance in the wake of fresh India-Pakistan tensions. Others include a student, a security guard, and a businessman. These suspects were arrested from across Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
‘Spy’ YouTuber’s Bangladesh Connection Emerges, She Was Planning A Visit
Jyoti Malhotra has been accused of spying for Pakistan and also sharing secret and strategic information with the enemy nation. She is said to be in touch with multiple Pakistani agents, including some of the operatives of ISI, Pakistan’s intelligence agency. Haryana Police has stumbled upon a crucial piece of information, which shows that the YouTuber was planning a visit to Bangladesh soon. An undated Bangladesh visa application form shows her name inscribed on the form, in which she filled up her ‘temporary address’ as the one in Uttara, Dhaka.
While Haryana Police probes the alleged collusion of the YouTuber with the agents in pushing a Pakistani narrative and using her social media presence to influence gullible locals here, the officials have stumbled upon a crucial piece of information, which shows that the YouTuber was planning a visit to Bangladesh soon.
It has access to Jyoti’s visa form application, which shows that the next destination on her itinerary was Bangladesh. An undated Bangladesh visa application form shows her name inscribed on the form, in which she filled up her ‘temporary address’ as the one in Uttara, Dhaka.
The visa application form is, though undated, the probe team believes that her visit was intended to align and position with Bangladeshi operatives in the garb of the video shoot.
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The ‘spy’ video blogger was also grilled by National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials on Tuesday over alleged links with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO).
Officials with knowledge of the investigation disclosed that her recent foreign trips to Pakistan, China and other nations are being closely examined.
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Many reports said that the Haryana YouTuber remained remorseless during the interrogation and insisted that she was being targeted for her free speech.
She has been accused of sharing sensitive military information with Pakistani intelligence operatives, raising concerns about security breaches, particularly in the backdrop of ghastly Pahalgam attacks. Her proposed visit to Bangladesh, after the regime change there, raises fresh security concerns.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/jyoti-malhotras-odisha-link-cops-probe-puri-based-youtuber-guest-house-8476028