Hisar/New Delhi: Two days after Haryana-based travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive intel with Pakistani operatives and spying for them, her Instagram account was blocked today (May 19). She had 1.33 lakh subscribers.
Her followers on Instagram grew by more than 7,000 after her arrest. According to reports, over a lakh people searched for her on Google within a day of her arrest.
Meanwhile, Hisar superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan on Sunday told India Today that Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs) were grooming her to become an asset.
Besides visiting Pakistan several times, Sawan revealed that Malhotra had also travelled to China. One of her visits to Pakistan was prior to the Pahalgam attack, reports claimed.
Central agencies had informed the Haryana Police that PIOs were actively recruiting social media influencers to promote soft narratives, the SP told reporters at a press conference. Meanwhile, Malhotra has been remanded in police custody for five days.
This Indian lady Jyoti Malhotra aka Travel with JO went to china as a tourist but behaved like a typical upperclass Indian used racist word like chini #ChinaTravel #China #Indiantourist Indians are the worst behaving tourist around the world pic.twitter.com/5XeumAmisD
— Mr Thakur (@jaycha69100) July 13, 2024
“She is being interrogated by the Haryana Police, in coordination with central agencies. We are analysing her financial transactions and travel history to determine the sources of her income,” SP Sawan said, as quoted by India Today. According to cops, Malhotra’s known income sources do not justify her foreign travel. “We suspect external funding. On the surface, she was just a travel blogger,” Sawan alleged.
Watch what SP, Hisar told at a press conference:
#WATCH | Hisar | “They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra) as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs… She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips… She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the… pic.twitter.com/OD2wD1vzic
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2025
Here are 5 shocking revelations about Jyoti Malhotra
1) Cops claimed she was in direct contact with PIOs, including individuals declared persona non grata by India.
2) She did not have direct access to sensitive defence information. But her communication with PIOs during periods of escalated tension between India and Pakistan is being seen as something “alarming.”
3) She had interacted with several high-profile individuals during her visits to Pakistan.
4) Investigators are also scrutinising her Indian contacts who may have introduced her to PIOs.
5) SP Sawan said authorities believe Jyoti Malhotra was part of a broader Pakistani strategy to use social media influencers as tools of “narrative warfare.” Police said she was in touch with other influencers who may also have been recruited by PIOs to subtly push anti-India narratives.
