Father: I Had No Idea! YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra Hid Pakistan Trips

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra’s Father Claims Unawareness of Pakistan Trips

In a surprising turn of events, the father of arrested YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra has stated that he was completely unaware of his daughter’s trips to Pakistan. Harish Malhotra told news agency ANI that Jyoti, who was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, would always tell him she was going to Delhi, never mentioning her visits across the border.

Jyoti, who hails from Hisar, Haryana, was apprehended under the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police allege they found “suspicious” content on her phone and laptop.

Harish Malhotra’s claim comes a day after he initially asserted that his daughter had made YouTube videos from Pakistan and demanded the return of the phones seized by the police. He stated that his daughter had visited Delhi previously and had been in Hisar for the last four to five days.

“I didn’t know, she had told me that she was going to Delhi. She never told me anything. None of her friends visited our home… Yesterday, the Police brought her here, she took her clothes and left, she did not say anything to me… I don’t know what to say… She used to make videos at home… I never said that she visited Pakistan, she used to tell me that she was going to Delhi… I have no demands, whatever is going to happen, will happen,” he told ANI.

According to authorities, Jyoti visited the Pakistan high commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa. During this visit, she reportedly met a man identified as Ahsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, who worked at the mission. Investigators allege that she stayed in touch with him, made two trips to Pakistan, and met individuals linked to Pakistani security and intelligence agencies.

However, Harish Malhotra claims his daughter’s travel was simply for her YouTube work. “Before lockdown (Covid), she used to work in Delhi… I haven’t seen her (YouTube) videos as I own a small phone… I have nothing to say. I am myself upset and unwell for the last 3 days,” he stated.

He added that his daughter made videos in Pakistan for her channel and had obtained all required permissions for travel.

“She made YouTube videos. She used to visit Pakistan and other places… if she has some friends there, can’t she call them?” he said, noting that police had taken their mobile phones, passports, and bank documents.

Hisar superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan revealed that Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs) were grooming Jyoti to be an asset. He stated that Jyoti had visited Pakistan several times, including a trip before the Pahalgam terror attack, and had also traveled to China.

SP Sawan emphasized that central agencies had informed the Haryana Police that PIOs were actively recruiting social media influencers to promote soft narratives. Jyoti has been remanded to police custody for five days, and authorities are analyzing her financial transactions and travel history.

“She is being interrogated by the Haryana Police, in coordination with central agencies. We are analyzing her financial transactions and travel history to determine the sources of her income,” SP Sawan said. **“Her known income sources do not justify her foreign travel. We suspect external funding. On the surface, she was just a travel blogger,”** he added.

The SP confirmed that Jyoti was in direct contact with PIOs, including individuals declared persona non grata by India. While she did not have direct access to sensitive defense information, her communication with PIOs during periods of heightened tension between India and Pakistan was “alarming.”

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