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The father of Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber arrested for spying for Pakistan, was unaware of her daughter’s trips to the country. He also said he didn’t know about her YouTube or other social media accounts.
New Delhi:
The father of Jyoti Malhotra, the YouTuber arrested for spying for Pakistan, on Monday said he wasn’t aware of his daughter’s trips to the neighbouring country. Speaking to the news agency ANI, Ms Malhotra’s father, Harish, said he didn’t know about her YouTube or other social media accounts.
Jyoti Malhotra, a resident of Haryana’s Hisar who runs a YouTube channel called ‘Travel with JO’ and has nearly four lakh subscribers, was arrested last week for sharing Indian military information with Pakistan. The police said the 33-year-old had come in contact with an official from the Pakistan High Commission and had visited Pakistan at least twice.
“She used to tell me that she was going to Delhi. She never told me anything,” Mr Malhotra said, backtracking on his Saturday’s remarks that Jyoti visited Pakistan to shoot videos.
“She used to make videos at home,” he added.
Jyoti had uploaded more than 450 videos on her YouTube channel. Some of her videos were also about her visit to Pakistan — ‘Indian Girl in Pakistan’, ‘Indian Girl Exploring Lahore’, ‘Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple’ and ‘Indian Girl Rides Luxury Bus in Pakistan’.
Mr Malhotra said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked in Delhi but later left her job.
Jyoti Malhotra Visited Kashmir, Pak Before Pahalgam Attack
The police have said Jyoti Malhotra went to Kashmir before the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack and visited Pakistan before that. The police are trying to establish the “link” between these visits, Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan told reporters on Sunday.
He also said that Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing the YouTuber as an asset.
She was allegedly in touch with a Pakistani officer posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the Pahalgam attack, which left 26 people dead.
Mr Sawan also said she had allegedly met some high-profile people in Pakistan.
Jyoti Malhotra is among at least 12 people who have been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
The arrests come in the wake of increasing tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
India, after finding cross-border links to the attack, launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to strike terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan then launched a massive missile and drone attack, but the threats were thwarted.
In retaliation, Indian forces struck airfields in Pakistan. A ceasefire on May 10 ended the hostilities.
