Before she was arrested for spying for Pak, this man warned NIA about Jyoti Malhotra
Months before she was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, an Indian man had already raised concerns about travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra
Months before she was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, an Indian man had already raised concerns about travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra. Known online for her travel channel "Travel with Jo", which has nearly 4 lakh subscribers, Malhotra has now become a central figure in an ongoing investigation into an alleged Pakistani espionage network operating across north India.
Who is Jyoti Malhotra?
Jyoti Malhotra, a resident of Hisar, was arrested last week for sharing sensitive Indian military information with Pakistan. Her arrest comes weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack in which more than 25 civilians were killed.
Although Malhotra was arrested in May 2025, an old social media post from more than a year ago had warned of her links to Pakistan. The post, dating back to May 2024, has gone viral after her arrest.
Malhotra reportedly visited Pakistan twice in 2023. Her social media posts show that her visits to Kashmir were followed by trips to Kashmir.
Old warning on Jyoti Malhotra
An X user named Kapil Jain had warned the National Investigation Agency to look into her activities in May 2024.
“NIA, please keep close watch on this lady..she first visited and attained Pakistani embassy function then visited Pakistan for 10 days now she is heading for Kashmir... may be some link behind all these [sic],” Jain had posted, sharing a screenshot of Jyoti Malhotra’s YouTube page.
The prophetic warning has garnered a million views since Malhotra’s arrest.
“Wow! This guy found her activities suspicious one full year before she was arrested!! Respect!” wrote one X user in the comments section. “You have got to question the security agencies when a random Twitter user cracks a case about a Pakistani spy literally a year before them,” another wrote.
Haryana travel vlogger to Pakistani spy
Jyoti, whose YouTube channel and Instagram account have 3.77 lakh subscribers and 1.33 lakh followers respectively, was allegedly in contact with a Pakistani staffer working at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. On May 13, India had expelled that Pakistani official for allegedly indulging in espionage.
According to news agency PTI, in 2023, Jyoti came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish at the Pakistan High Commission where she went to seek a visa to visit the neighbouring nation, according to an FIR lodged at Civil Lines Police Station on May 16.
Jyoti, who visited Pakistan twice, had met Danish's acquaintance Ali Ahwan who arranged her stay there, the FIR read.
Ahwan arranged Jyoti's meeting with Pakistani Security and Intelligence officials and met Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. She saved Shahbaz's mobile number as 'Jatt Randhawa' to avoid any suspicion.
(With inputs from PTI)
