YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra Visited Pakistan Before Pahalgam Attack
A major controversy has erupted after Hisar-based travel vlogger Jyoti Malhotra was arrested on charges under the Official Secrets Act, with law enforcement agencies now investigating her alleged links to Pakistan’s intelligence services. Her foreign travel history and timing have put her under serious suspicion, especially in light of the deadly Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people.
Pakistan Visit Weeks Before Pahalgam Attack
According to Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan, Jyoti Malhotra had travelled to Pakistan just weeks before the terror attack in Pahalgam. She also made earlier trips in the past year to Pakistan and China. While she was ostensibly creating travel content, intelligence officials suspect her visits were being exploited by the ISI to gain access to sensitive locations and operational patterns.
“Her visit to Pakistan took place barely days before the Pahalgam incident,” the SP said, raising serious concerns that reconnaissance or local assessment may have been conducted under the guise of tourism.
Groomed by ISI, Says Police
Investigators believe Malhotra was gradually being cultivated as a long-term intelligence asset by Pakistan’s spy agency. Her name had reportedly surfaced in confidential alerts about vlogger activities near military installations in sensitive border zones.
The SP confirmed: “She had direct contact with officers from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. The nature of her interaction and subsequent travel to China are both under scrutiny.”
Moreover, officials are verifying how she financed her trips despite no clear income source. Suspicious financial transactions are being mapped, including foreign remittances.
Vlogger Network Under the Radar
With Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest, security agencies are now widening the scope to monitor other social media influencers, especially those who have recently visited Pakistan or collaborated with her.
“Many such creators use drones, high-resolution cameras, and public engagement as a cover for mapping and documenting locations of strategic interest,” an intelligence official said, citing increasing misuse of creator economy freedom.
Her arrest has reignited demands for stronger regulation and oversight on travel bloggers in sensitive locations. Cyber cells and counterintelligence units are now cross-checking digital footprints of creators who visited Pahalgam or nearby areas in the months before the attack.
As the investigation deepens, it has become clear that what began as travel blogging may have turned into something far more sinister—an example of how the influencer economy can be exploited by foreign intelligence networks in the absence of strong checks.
