The Haryana Police's anti-espionage wing arrested Jyoti Malhotra, a travel blogger based in Hisar who runs the popular YouTube channel ‘Travel with JO,’ on charges of passing sensitive information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Her arrest is part of a broader crackdown known as Operation Sindoor, during which five others have also been taken into custody for allegedly spying for Pakistan. The arrest occurred on May 17 and revealed her connections with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, a Pakistani official working at the High Commission in Delhi.
Who is Ehsan-ur-Rahim?
Jyoti first met Danish during a visit to the Pakistan High Commission in 2023, where he assisted her with the extension of her visa and arranged her homestay. During this visit, Danish introduced her to several Pakistani intelligence operatives, including two identified as Shakir and Rana Shahbaz.
On May 13, 2025, the Indian government declared Rahim persona non grata and expelled him from the country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that a formal protest had been lodged with the Pakistan High Commission, noting, “The Government of India has declared a Pakistani official, working at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, persona non grata for engaging in activities inconsistent with his official status in India. The official has been asked to leave India within 24 hours.”
The police claim that Jyoti has confessed to the crime and provided detailed accounts of her visit to Pakistan and her interactions with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
According to a report from the Times of India, the police investigation also revealed that she had an intimate relationship with a Pakistani intelligence operative and had traveled to Indonesia with him.
A video posted by Malhotra on March 30 of last year shows her close relationship with Rahim. In the video, recorded during an Iftar party at the Pakistan High Commission, she is seen warmly interacting with Rahim and his wife. Rahim introduces her to his wife, and they discuss the celebrations for Pakistan Day. “I am very happy after receiving such a grand welcome and these arrangements,” Malhotra says in the video, to which Rahim responds, “This is how Pakistanis are.”
Malhotra also invites Rahim and his wife to her home in Hisar, saying, “Come see the hospitality in our village. It’s very similar.” Throughout the video, she expresses her eagerness to visit Pakistan, asking attendees if they have been to the country and stating, “I want to go, too,” and “Hopefully I will get a visa, and we’ll go together.”
Additionally, she engages with Chinese officials, requesting a visa, saying, “Give me a visa!”
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