Pak operatives tried to develop YouTuber as asset: Police

KARNAL: Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) were develop-ing You Tuber Jyoti Malhotra as an asset, the Hisar police said on Sunday, two days after the 33-year-old was arrested on espi-concernsonage charges and for being part of a spy network that spanned Punjab and Haryana.

Speaking to reporters, Hisar superintendent of police Sha-shank Kumar Sawan said that as part of the network, the PIOs were hiring social media influ-encers to push their narrative. Sawan said, "Certainly, they were developing her as an asset.-She was in touch with other You-Tube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs. This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers."

Hisar-based Malhotra (33). who runs a YouTube channel, Travel with JO, was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension on Friday, they said.

She has been booked under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said. She was sent to a five-day police remand after being produced before the court on Saturday.

The SP told reporters that Malhotra is being questioned by Haryana Police. "We are analys-ing her financial transactions, travel details, where she went and whom she met," he said.

The officer said Malhotra was in touch with PIOs, and that she has visited Pakistan "multiple times" and China once.

Asked about information on her movements during the Pahalgam terror attack and whether she was in contact with the Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistan High Commission during Operation Sindoor, the SP said during the conflict, she was "in touch with PIOs and the person who was declared per-sona non grata".

"We will do a forensic analysis of her laptop and other elec-tronic gadgets. It will then be clear what information she shared," he said. Meanwhile, Odisha Police have started an investigation into the alleged links between a Puri-based YouTuber and Jyoti Malhotra. The state's police said on Sunday that Malhotra alleg-edly visited Puri in September 2024 and came in contact with a female YouTuber from the town.

Asked about one of Mal-hotra's videos in which she could be seen visiting the Paki-stani Embassy on March 28 the SP said, "Socialisation is allowed but one should understand their intentions. Pakistan is not a nor-mal country for us."