'Received lot of love from people of Pakistan'; Jyoti Malhotra admits Pak connections during questioning

NEW DELHI: YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on charges of espionage, has admitted that she had connections with a Pakistani Intelligence Agent. During questioning, she confessed to regularly communicating with an official from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Jyoti said that she first met Danish, also known as Ehsar Dar, when she visited the High Commission in 2023 while applying for a visa to Pakistan.

Danish was one of the Pakistani diplomats who were expelled from India following the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives. It was through Danish that she came to know Ali Hasan, who arranged accommodation for her in Pakistan. She also said that Ali Hasan was the one who introduced her to two men believed to be Pakistan Intelligence officials.

These officers were identified as Shakir and Rana Shahbaz. Jyoti admitted that, in order to avoid suspicion, she saved Shakir's contact under the name "Jatt Radhav" in her phone.

After returning to India, Jyoti continued communication with Pakistani intelligence agents via encrypted messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Snapchat, and Telegram. Jyoti Malhotra is the owner of the YouTube channel 'Travel with Jo,' which has around 400,000 subscribers.

Meanwhile, investigation officials have recovered Jyoti’s personal diary, which contains detailed notes about her trip to Pakistan. She described the visit as a very enjoyable experience and wrote that she received a lot of affection there. The investigation team also found that she had allegedly shared information and photos of strategically important locations in India with Pakistani spies.