The father of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was taken into custody for allegedly spying for Pakistan, has stated that he was unaware of his daughter’s visits to the neighboring nation.
‘Unaware of daughter’s YouTube channel’
In an interview with the news agency ANI, Harish Malhotra mentioned that he was unaware of his daughter’s YouTube channel or any other social media profiles.
Jyoti Malhotra, a Haryana resident with a YouTube channel named ‘Travel with JO’ boasting nearly four lakh subscribers, was taken into custody last week for reportedly sharing military information of India with Pakistan. Authorities stated that the 33-year-old had interacted with a representative from the Pakistan High Commission and had traveled to Pakistan a minimum of two times.
“She would tell me that she was heading to Delhi. She never mentioned anything,” Malhotra stated, retracting his previous comments that Jyoti had traveled to Pakistan to make videos.
Jyoti had posted over 450 videos on her YouTube channel. Several of her videos focused on her trip to Pakistan — ‘Indian Girl in Pakistan’, ‘Indian Girl Exploring Lahore’, ‘Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple’, and ‘Indian Girl Rides Luxury Bus in Pakistan’.
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Jyoti had travelled to Pak before Pahalgam Attack
Authorities reported that Jyoti Malhotra traveled to Kashmir prior to the lethal attack in Pahalgam on April 22 and visited Pakistan before that. The police are attempting to determine any connection between these visits, Hisar Police Superintendent Shashank Kumar Sawan informed reporters on Sunday.
He additionally stated that intelligence agents from Pakistan were preparing the YouTuber to serve as an asset.
It is said that she was in contact with a Pakistani official stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day military clash between India and Pakistan that ensued after the Pahalgam attack, resulting in 26 fatalities. He also mentioned that she is said to have encountered several prominent individuals in Pakistan.
Jyoti Malhotra is one of at least 12 individuals who have been detained for supposedly espionage on behalf of Pakistan.
The arrests occur amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack.
