Beauty, Vlogs, and Betrayal: YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra’s Shocking Spy Game for Pakistan

GG News Bureau
Hisar, 17th May: She was known to her 20,000 YouTube subscribers as ‘Travel With Jo’ — a free-spirited travel vlogger who called herself a “nomadic Leo wanderer” and a “modern girl with traditional values.” But behind the smiling selfies at cross-border temples and street food tours in Lahore, Jyoti Malhotra was allegedly leading a double life — one that now has her behind bars.

In a sensational twist, Haryana Police on Saturday arrested the 33-year-old YouTuber — also known as Jyoti Rani — on charges of espionage. Malhotra, who hails from Hisar, is accused of sharing sensitive Indian military information with Pakistan’s intelligence operatives.

According to police, she came in contact with a senior Pakistani official, Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 while seeking a visa. What began as casual conversations soon spiraled into covert intelligence sharing — with Malhotra allegedly traveling to Pakistan twice and meeting top Pakistani security and intelligence operatives.

“In Pakistan, I met officers Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. I saved Shakir’s number as ‘Jat Randhawa’ in my phone to avoid suspicion,” she confessed during interrogation, police officials revealed.

After India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Rahim was expelled from India within 24 hours for espionage. Malhotra, too, fell under the radar.

Officials say she maintained regular contact with Pakistani handlers via WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Telegram, allegedly sharing classified Indian military intelligence.

One of her now-viral YouTube shorts from March showcases her visit to Pakistan with upbeat commentary:

“When you cross the Attari-Wagah border, you feel goosebumps,” she says with a smile. “I got 2.6 Pakistani rupees for every Indian rupee. I suffered a loss — I thought I’d get three,” she quipped.

But investigators say behind that cheerful demeanor was a calculated informant passing off India’s secrets. Malhotra has now been charged under the Official Secrets Act for compromising national security and has been remanded to five days in police custody.

She is one of six arrested across Punjab and Haryana in an expanding espionage probe.

Among them is Nauman Ilahi, a 24-year-old security guard from Panipat, who was caught funneling information in exchange for money routed through his brother-in-law’s account.

Another shock arrest was that of Devendra Singh Dhillon, a 25-year-old political science student at Khalsa College, Patiala. Dhillon had posted pictures of firearms on social media and admitted during interrogation that he traveled to Pakistan via the Kartarpur corridor in November 2024 — where he allegedly connected with ISI officers and shared images of the Patiala military cantonment.

Kaithal SP Aastha Modi confirmed Dhillon’s links to Pakistani intelligence and said more arrests could follow.

Meanwhile, two additional arrests were made last week by Punjab Police under similar espionage charges.

As India tightens its internal security grid, the case of Jyoti Malhotra — the YouTuber turned alleged spy — has sent shockwaves across digital and defense circles alike.

From sharing street food reviews in Lahore to sending secrets over Snapchat, Travel With Jo may have taken a journey too far.