Harish Malhotra, father of Jyoti Malhotra—the YouTuber recently arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan—has claimed he was unaware of his daughter’s visits to the neighbouring country or her presence on social media.
Speaking to news agency ANI on Monday, he stated, “She used to tell me she was going to Delhi. She never told me anything,” adding that he didn’t know she ran a YouTube channel.
Jyoti Malhotra, a 33-year-old resident of Hisar in Haryana, ran a popular travel channel on YouTube titled Travel with JO, boasting nearly four lakh subscribers. She was arrested last week for allegedly passing on sensitive Indian military information to Pakistan after reportedly coming in contact with an official from the Pakistan High Commission. Authorities say she had travelled to Pakistan at least twice.
While Harish Malhotra had earlier acknowledged her Pakistan visits—claiming she went there to shoot videos—he has since walked back those remarks. “She used to make videos at home,” he said in his latest statement.
Jyoti’s YouTube channel featured more than 450 videos, including several highlighting her travels in Pakistan, such as “Indian Girl in Pakistan,” “Indian Girl Exploring Lahore,” “Indian Girl at Katas Raj Temple,” and “Indian Girl Rides Luxury Bus in Pakistan.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Jyoti reportedly worked in Delhi but left her job later to focus on content creation.
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities probing her visits and alleged connections to Pakistani intelligence as part of a larger national security case.
