A Hisar-based woman travel blogger was arrested for allegedly spying and passing sensitive information to Pakistani operatives, marking the third arrest from Haryana this week after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire.
Travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra, a resident of Hisar, was arrested after she confessed to sharing sensitive information with Pakistani operatives. She was booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act. She has been placed under five-day police remand.
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Confirming her arrest, Hisar police spokesman Vikas Kumar said that Jyoti Malhotra was taken into custody and officials are questioning her to gather more details.
An FIR was registered at Hisar Civil Lines police station based on a complaint lodged by sub-inspector Sanjay. According to the FIR, the blogger visited the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023, where she came into contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission (PHC) in New Delhi.
“The woman revealed that she remained in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish and during her Pakistan visit in 2023 , she met Ali Ehwan, who ensured my staying and travelling in Pakistan. Ehwan introduced her to Pakistani security and intelligence officials, where she also met with Shakir and Rana Shahbaz,” the FIR reads.
{{/usCountry}}“The woman revealed that she remained in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish and during her Pakistan visit in 2023 , she met Ali Ehwan, who ensured my staying and travelling in Pakistan. Ehwan introduced her to Pakistani security and intelligence officials, where she also met with Shakir and Rana Shahbaz,” the FIR reads.
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"The blogger had saved Shakir’s name with ‘ Jatt Randhawa’ so that no one could create doubt on her. After returning from Pakistan in 2023, she remained in touch with all the operatives on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Snapchat,” the police FIR added.
The woman blogger had visited Pakistan twice in 2023. Jyoti Malhotra ran the YouTube channel “Travel with Jo.” She is part of a network that spanned across Haryana and Punjab, with key operatives acting as agents, financial conduits, and informants.
Also read: Who is Jyoti Malhotra? YouTuber arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan
Danish, who has since been declared persona non grata by the Indian government and expelled on May 13, 2025, allegedly introduced Jyoti to multiple Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs).
She allegedly shared sensitive information concerning Indian locations and was actively used to project a positive image of Pakistan on social media.
Investigators say she also entered into an intimate relationship with a PIO and even travelled to Bali, Indonesia with him. During Danish’s stay in Delhi, she continued coordinating with him, further raising suspicions