YouTuber 'spy' Jyoti Malhotra was in Pakistan before Pahalgam attack: Police

NEW DELHI: Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Hisar, Haryana, who was arrested under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly spying for Pakistan, had travelled to the neighbouring country shortly before the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, the police said. Cops are probing potential links between her visit and the attack.Shashank Kumar Sawan, SP Hisar, said Malhotra had been in regular contact with a Pakistani citizen and was allegedly being developed as an "asset." “She used to go to Pakistan on sponsored trips. She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the investigation is ongoing to establish any possible linkages,” he told reporters.Police said she had travelled twice to Pakistan and was in touch with other Indian influencers as well as Pakistan Information Officers (PIOs). During questioning, she reportedly admitted to meeting a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023. She allegedly exchanged numbers with him and later met with Pakistani intelligence officials during her trips.“Suspicious materials were recovered from her mobile phone and laptop,” said Hisar DSP Kamaljeet. Malhotra has been sent to five-day police remand and booked under the Official Secrets Act and BNS section 152.Her father, Haris Malhotra, admitted she had travelled to Pakistan and made videos for YouTube. “She used to visit Pakistan and other places. I don’t know how many times she went, but she went with proper permissions,” he told ANI, while also questioning the seizure of their electronic devices and documents by police. Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians on April 22 in Jammu & Kashmir's Pahalgam.While no direct connection has yet been established, police sources said Malhotra’s presence in Pakistan ahead of the attack had raised “serious red flags.”Investigations are ongoing to trace the extent of her contacts and any possible coordination with hostile actors.