The North News
Chandigarh, May 22
A Haryana-based YouTuber accused of espionage for Pakistan has been remanded to police custody for four more days, as security agencies widen their investigation into possible links to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir.
Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on 16 May, appeared in a Hisar court on Thursday morning under heavy security. To evade media attention, police used a black-glassed Scorpio vehicle and shut the court’s main gate before swiftly escorting her away. Her father, Harish Malhotra, was reportedly barred from meeting her, and police officials declined to comment publicly.
Malhotra, known for her travel content on YouTube, is now at the centre of a multi-agency investigation involving the Hisar police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Military Intelligence, and the Intelligence Bureau. During her initial five-day custody, authorities say they established her links with Pakistani intelligence agencies and are now probing possible connections to terrorist groups.
According to NIA sources, investigators are scrutinising Malhotra’s movements and communications before and after the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead. They suspect she may have captured footage of areas in Kashmir where military presence was thin—raising concerns that what appeared to be travel vlogs could have included coded messages for Pakistani handlers.
Investigators are also analysing data from her four bank accounts and reviewing financial transactions from her recent trip to Kashmir. Her phone data is being combed for contact traces, and officials are yet to determine whether the videos she shared online were innocuous or part of a covert intelligence operation.
