What police has claimed so far in arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra over Pak 'links'

Jyoti Malhotra

Haryana police on Sunday claimed that Jyoti Malhotra was being developed as an asset to Pakistan and and she was in touch with other YouTube influencers as well. She was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.

Hisar SP Shashank Kumar Sawan said that Malhotra was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and they are investigating her linkages to Pakistan, if there are any.

"They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra) as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs... She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips... She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the investigation is on to establish linkages, if there are any. We are also investigating, as we have leads that other people were also involved with her," said Sawan.

#WATCH | Hisar | "They were developing her (Jyoti Malhotra) as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in touch with the PIOs... She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips... She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the pic.twitter.com/OD2wD1vzic

ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2025

"Modern warfare is not only fought on the border. The PIOs are trying to recruit some social media influencers, and they use that to push their narrative. We received inputs from the central agencies, and we arrested Jyoti Malhotra. She had visited Pakistan multiple times and China once. She was in contact with the PIOs. We have taken her on a 5-day police remand. We are analysing her financial details. During the conflict (Indo-Pak), she was in touch with the PIOs... Her travel details are defying her total income," he added.

Earlier, Jyoti's father claimed that "she visited Pakistan to make videos for her YouTube channel and not for any illegal activity."

“She used to visit Pakistan and other places to shoot videos for YouTube,” Haris Malhotra told news agency ANI.

Her father questioned the police action, saying: “If she has some friends there, can't she call them? I have no demands, but give us our phones. A case has been registered against us.”