Author: ops566320@gmail.com

Navankur Chaudhary, a doctor-turned-YouTuber popularly known as Yatri Doctor, has denied any involvement in espionage following the arrest of his acquaintance Jyoti Malhotra on charges of spying for Pakistan.

In a video posted to Instagram, Mr Chaudhary called the allegations “baseless” and the narrative being spread against him “fake.” 

Who Is Yatri Doctor Navankur Chaudhary?

Navankur Chaudhary is a registered MBBS doctor, having graduated from Madras Medical College in 2015. Originally from Rohtak, Haryana, he was born on March 2, 1996, and completed his schooling in Rohtak before pursuing medicine. He currently lives in Delhi, as per his LinkedIn profile.

In 2017, Mr Chaudhary left his medical profession to pursue his passion for travel and launched his YouTube channel Yatri Doctor. Today, the channel has nearly 2 million subscribers. With over 6.5 lakh followers on Instagram and millions of views on his videos, he is a popular figure among Indian travel enthusiasts.

To date, he has visited 144 countries and continues to share his journeys across various social media platforms.

Why Is Yatri Doctor In the News?

The backlash began after social media users circulated older clips of him attending an event at the Pakistan High Commission, criticising a BSF jawan, and allegedly displaying an incorrect map of India.

On Sunday, Mr Chaudhary clarified that he has only visited Pakistan once. 

“I have visited Pakistan only once,” he said, explaining it was a part of his goal to travel to all 197 countries in the world.

So far, he has travelled to 144 countries.

Addressing his connection with Jyoti Malhotra, the woman arrested for allegedly passing sensitive military information to Pakistani handlers, Mr Chaudhary said, “She approached me as a fan. I didn’t know her personally before that day, and we only briefly spoke about YouTube.”

Jyoti Malhotra, 33, has 3.85 lakh YouTube subscribers. Her YouTube account has videos and reels of travel in which she describes her experiences.

Jyoti Malhotra’s journey from being a travel YouTuber to a Pakistani spy has revealed a new battleground of modern warfare, where intelligence agencies lure influencers from another country and use them to shape narratives. At the same time, it is a story of how greed for quick money and a luxurious lifestyle led an influencer into tricky territory. The YouTuber was arrested on Friday on espionage charges and remanded in custody for five days.

The Influencer Race

Following the Covid pandemic, the content creation universe has turned saturated and increasingly competitive. As more and more people take to content creation with the dream of becoming an influencer, they get drawn into a relentless race for ‘likes’ and views. To keep the momentum up, they must create fresh content consistently. And to do that, they need connections and resources.

Jyoti Malhotra, 33, has 3.85 lakh subscribers on her YouTube channel ‘Travel With Jo’. Her bio describes her as “Nomadic Leo Girl, Wanderer Haryanvi + Punjabi” and a “modern woman with old-school ideas”. Her YouTube account has videos and reels of travel in which she describes her experiences.

Haryana-based travel YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was arrested on May 17 for allegedly spying for Pakistan and leaking sensitive Indian military information. Popular television actress Rupali Ganguly has reacted to the YouTuber’s arrest strongly.

Sharing a screenshot of the news on X, Rupali wrote, “Such people do not even realize when their love for Pakistan turns into hatred for India. Initially they talk about ‘Aman Ki Aasha’ and ends up hating India.

Don’t know how many such people are secretly working against the country, not a single one should be spared. #JyotiMalhotra”

Jyoti Malhotra is a travel vlogger from Haryana who runs a YouTube channel called ‘Travel With Jo’. Her Instagram handle, ‘travelwithjo1’, has 1.37 lakh followers.

Around two months ago, she posted multiple videos and reels from Pakistan, showing her visit to Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar, Katas Raj Temple, and a bus journey across the country. 

One of her Instagram captions read “Ishq (love) Lahore”, and her content included comparisons between Indian and Pakistani culture and coverage of Pakistani cuisine.

In 2023, Jyoti Malhotra visited Pakistan for the first time using a visa arranged through commission agents, during which she came in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. She later developed close ties with Rahim, who introduced her to Pakistani intelligence operatives.

Ms Malhotra allegedly remained in touch with these handlers after returning to India and is accused of sharing sensitive Indian Army movement and location details as part of an espionage network spanning Haryana and Punjab.

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was allegedly in touch with a Pakistani officer in Delhi during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack, the officer said.

Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested on espionage charges, as an asset, a senior Haryana police officer claimed on Sunday.

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 April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, the officer said.

Hisar Superintendent of Police Shashank Kumar Sawan said Malhotra did not have any direct access to any information related to the military or defence operations which could be said at this stage that she could have shared.

But she was directly in touch with PIOs, he said addressing mediapersons in Hisar, Haryana.

“Certainly, they were developing her as an asset. She was in touch with other YouTube influencers. They were also in touch with PIOs,” the SP said.

“This is also (a kind of) warfare, in which they try to push their narrative by recruiting influencers,” he said.

Hisar-based Malhotra (33), who runs a YouTube channel, ‘Travel with JO’, was arrested from New Aggarsain Extension on Friday, they said.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!