Jaipur, May 20 — Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, recently arrested on charges of alleged espionage for Pakistan, is now under deeper scrutiny after it was revealed that she filmed sensitive locations near the Indo-Pakistan border in Rajasthan, including the strategically important Munabao railway station in Barmer district.
According to officials, Malhotra posted a 24-minute video on January 1, 2024, documenting her train journey from Barmer to Munabao—a station located just a few kilometers from the international border. The video reportedly featured detailed visuals of the railway station, surrounding infrastructure, proximity to military installations, and even strategic maps. Authorities say this type of content poses a serious risk to national security, and filming in Munabao requires special administrative clearance—whether Malhotra obtained such permission is currently under investigation.
Sources also revealed that Malhotra spent a night in Jhelun, a border village in Barmer, and uploaded footage of the visit to her YouTube and Instagram accounts on January 5. In the video, she discusses border landmarks, captures imagery of the barbed wire fencing, and even points across the border while stating, “If you walk a little further from here, you’ll find Pakistani soldiers and civilians.”
Her interactions with local villagers raised additional red flags. She asked questions about who lives on the other side of the border, how far it is, and how long it would take to cross. In one troubling scene, she shows a goat crossing the fence and casually remarks that it came from the Pakistani side.
Investigators say she also visited Ramsar tehsil, another border area, where she stopped briefly in a village just 10 kilometers from the line of control. She reportedly spent about an hour at the home of a local resident named Khamisha Khan, where she drank tea and spoke with village women about daily life, water shortages, and gathering firewood before continuing on to Gadra Road.
The case has now been taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has detained Malhotra and recovered documents from her home in Hisar believed to be of an incriminating nature. She has been transferred to Chandigarh for further interrogation, where officers from the Jammu Intelligence Unit are also expected to question her.
Meanwhile, Malhotra’s Instagram account has been suspended, and authorities are conducting a detailed review of her domestic travel history, particularly visits to border and military-sensitive areas. Multiple lines of investigation are currently being pursued to determine the full extent of her activities and any links to foreign intelligence services. (Source: IANS)
