Sirsa: YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was recently arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, is now under the scanner of multiple central agencies after her WhatsApp chats with a Pakistani handler came to light.
According to sources in the Haryana Police, the chats reveal that Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI was using Jyoti to gather information about RAW agents near sensitive locations, including the Attari border.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has joined the investigation after a detailed conversation between Jyoti and ISI officer Ali Hasan was discovered.
In one of the exchanges, Ali reportedly asked Jyoti about a possible undercover operative she may have encountered during her visit to the Attari border. The chat suggested instructions to bring individuals into a gurdwara and monitor them.
On Monday, the NIA took Jyoti to Chandigarh, where she was interrogated for nearly seven hours. Officials from the Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence are also part of the ongoing questioning. While Jyoti continues to deny any links to ISI, agencies suspect she passed on classified information via WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram, and other platforms.
Investigations revealed that Ali Hasan arranged Jyoti’s travel and stay in Pakistan, including accommodation in a five-star hotel, which she showcased in a video on her YouTube channel.
She reportedly obtained a visa through the Pakistani embassy, where she was put in touch with a contact named Danish. On her first trip to Pakistan in 2023, Danish introduced her to Ali Hasan, who further connected her with ISI officers Shakir and Rana Shahbaz.
Jyoti allegedly saved Shakir’s number under a false name, “Jatt Randhawa,” to avoid raising suspicion. Upon returning to India, she is accused of continuing to work for Pakistani intelligence.
In response to the case, the Haryana government has announced plans to introduce a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to regulate YouTubers.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has directed officials to monitor YouTube channels linked to Pakistan to prevent similar incidents in the future.
