Kerala: Pakistan spy accused Jyoti Malhotra shot vlog with BJP leader on Vande Bharat

Jyoti Malhotra, arrested for espionage, filmed a video with BJP leaders during her Kerala visit for Vande Bharat train promotions.

Kozhikode: Days after it was revealed that Pakistan spy accused Jyoti Malhotra visited Kerala on government invitation, a video filmed by the YouTuber with BJP leaders have gone viral. The video shows Jyoti Malhotra with the then Union Minister V Muraleedharan during the inauguration of the Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express. Jyoti Malhotra had traveled from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram on April 25, 2023, as part of the promotions.

Muraleedharan said that many people took his response during the Vande Bharat's inaugural journey. “Old news is being dug up again due to the questions raised against Kerala government. All Malayalam media had covered that journey. No one should think BJP can be put on the defensive with this video,” he added.

Kerala Tourism Minister Muhammed Riyas had said that the issue was blown out of proportion and that state government did not know the background of Jyoti Malhotra. “Bringing influencers from outside the state to Kerala was not started today or yesterday. It has been there for a very long time. For that, empanelled agencies will list them and take steps for bringing them. In the list of who they should bring, the Tourism Minister does not interfere. She has gone to states ruled by different political parties. Are all the governments in those places responsible for this?” he added.

Supporting the Kerala government, Opposition leader VD Satheesan said that Jyoti Malhotra was invited before national agencies found that she was a spy. “That lady came here as the vlogger for the publicity purpose of the tourism department. At that time, she was a vlogger only; she was not a spy. We don't accuse the government in these types of matters,” he stated.

Kerala govt draws flak for invitation

The Kerala government was severely criticised for inviting Jyoti Malhotra and demanded the resignation of Tourism Minister Muhammed Riyas. An RTI query revealed that Jyoti Malhotra came to Kerala as part of a tourism promotion campaign organised by the Tourism Department, which funded a group of social media influencers to enhance the state's digital visibility as a travel destination. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla had questioned whether the Communist government had rolled out the red carpet for Pakistani spies. Former BJP state president K Surendran had levelled anti-national charges against Jyoti Malhotra. 

Malhotra is one of 12 individuals arrested across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh as part of a coordinated crackdown on a suspected spy ring that allegedly targeted Indian social media influencers to gather intelligence. The RTI response confirmed that Malhotra's travel, stay, and itinerary expenses were fully covered by the tourism department during her visit.

As per official records, Jyoti Malhotra toured Kannur, Kozhikode, Kochi, Alappuzha, and Munnar between 2024 and 2025 under the government's influencer collaboration initiative. Her participation was listed alongside several other digital creators active between January 2024 and May 2025.