Jyoti Malhotra espionage case: How a travel vlogger was allegedly honey-trapped by Pakistan’s ISI

India Today

Indian travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra is under investigation for allegedly spying for Pakistan's ISI.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Pakistan.

00:08That's Jyoti Rani, a graduate from Haryana

00:10and daughter of a retired Power Discom employee.

00:12She visited Pakistan four times, the police said.

00:15Ishq Lahore, she wrote in one of her posts

00:17as she compared the cultures of India and Pakistan

00:20and spoke about Pakistani cuisine.

00:22But authorities alleged her connection to Pakistan

00:24ran deeper than food or culture.

00:30Police say she visited Pakistan

00:35shortly before the Pahlgaam terror attack

00:37and her travel to Kashmir just days before.

00:39They are now probing whether the trips were linked.

00:42It was during her 2023 trip that she allegedly met

00:49Haysan Ur Rahim, a staffer at the Pakistan High Commission

00:53in Delhi, also known as Danish.

00:55Investigators believe he honey-trapped Jyoti

00:58and introduced her to Pakistan's spy agency, the ISI.

01:05Police claim she stayed in contact with Pakistani agents

01:09through Snapchat, Telegram and WhatsApp

01:11not to leak defence secrets

01:13but to push soft propaganda

01:15and promote a positive image of Pakistan online.

01:18She stayed in touch with Danish

01:20who allegedly introduced her to Pakistani intelligence operatives

01:23during a later visit.

01:24A video from an iftar at the Pakistan High Commission

01:27where she was a special invitee showed her with Danish

01:30later expelled by India for espionage

01:32and also with a Pakistani High Commission staffer.

01:35Former JNK DGP Shesh Paul Vedh

01:43alleges that Danish, believed to be linked to ISI,

01:46had developed her as an intelligence asset.

01:48Police also claimed the two travelled together to Bali, Indonesia.

01:51The PIOs are trying to recruit some social media influencers

01:56and try to play their narrative.

01:58Though she reportedly had no access to classified defence data,

02:01officials say she stayed in contact with Pakistani handlers

02:04during her India-Pakistan tensions.

02:06Investigators are also probing Harkirat Singh

02:08of the Haryana Singh Gurudwara Management Committee

02:11who helped her get Pakistan visas.

02:13Jyoti Malhotra, charged under BNS Section 152

02:16and the Official Secrets Act,

02:18is one of the six arrested for alleged spine

02:20and remains in police custody.

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