Jyoti Malhotra, Alleged Spy For Pakistan, Visited Kerala On Government Invite

Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber who has been held in Police custody since May 16, alleged to have been spying for Pakistan, had earlier visited Kerala on a state government invite. An RTI response revealed that her travel, accommodation, and itinerary expenses were borne by the state government as a part of an official tourism promotion initiative.

Jyoti’s travel history had been a major part of the investigation, going against her. She has allegedly travelled to Pakistan multiple times and established contacts with Pakistani intelligence officials, as reported by ANI. Amongst others that she where in contact with was a Pakistan High Commission member, Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, who was expelled by India after the alleged spy link surfaced.

Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas on Sunday said that the state government and its ministers would never "knowingly" invite spies and provide them with all facilities. "We don't give any value to such propaganda as the people are with us," he added.

Jyoti was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension area of Haryana and was booked under sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, officials said. Though the police have not found any conclusive evidence to suggest that she possessed military or defence-related data, investigators maintain that she was knowingly in contact with individuals linked to Pakistani intelligence. Officials had also claimed that Pakistani intelligence operatives were actively trying to cultivate Jyoti as an asset.

She is among 12 individuals arrested across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Allegedly, these content creators and influencers were targeted by Pakistani intelligence for building an espionage network to extract more information about India.