Probe reveals Haryana YouTuber's chats with ISI agents, her 'grooming' as Pakistani asset

Nearly a week after she was arrested for allegedly passing on sensitive information to a Pakistani intelligence official, Haryana-based travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra's chats with a Pakistani intelligence official have surfaced, according to a news report.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and military intelligence officials are currently grilling Malhotra, who has been arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan.

Quoting unnamed sources, the NDTV report said that the YouTuber, who ran a channel called ‘Travel with Jo’, allegedly maintained close contact with Ali Hassan, an official belonging to Pakistani spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The duo reportedly used to converse mainly through WhatsApp.

Also Read: Haryana YouTuber, student held for ‘spying for Pakistani agents’

Emotional ties with Pak

Media reports have cited a conversation between Malhotra and Hassan that indicated she had emotional connections with the neighbouring country. In one of the chats, she purportedly told Hassan, “Get me married in Pakistan.”

Investigators have also reportedly recovered several coded conversations between them, pertaining to alleged covert operations to be conducted in India.

Also Read: Travel vlogger Yatri Doctor rubbishes allegation of being Pakistani spy

Bank accounts probed

Malhotra’s bank accounts are also under the scanner as the police are trying to probe the origin of the funds in her accounts. According to the report, transactions from Dubai were reportedly found in one of her accounts.

During her earlier visits to Pakistan, Malhotra met Rahim, an official of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, who in turn reportedly introduced her to Pakistani intelligence officials, said the report. E

Even after her return to India, she allegedly remained in close contact with her Pakistani 'handlers' and shared sensitive information on the Indian Army’s movement with them.

The YouTuber’s father had initially said that she went to Pakistan to shoot travel videos, but later changed his version, claiming that she had told him that she was going to Delhi.

Also Read: NIA conducts searches in 7 states over Pak-based spy ring leaking defence secrets

How she was 'groomed'

Another report in the Times of India quoting investigators said Malhotra’s digital footprint suggested that from a travel vlogger she gradually transitioned into someone sharing sensitive information after methodical 'grooming'.

Quoting police sources, the report further stated, Malhotra had close connections with a Pakistani official, expelled from India on May 13 on charges of espionage. The two had even travelled to Bali together.

Malhotra reportedly communicated with her Pakistani handlers through messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Snapchat and also used pseudonyms like "Jatt Randhawa" in a bid to hide her true identity.

However, she was arrested days after her trip to Delhi on May 6.