Kerala tourism minister accused of hosting pak-linked vlogger with ‘red carpet’ - the statesman

Former BJP Kerala president K Surendran on Saturday alleged that the Kerala government facilitated the visit of YouTuber Jyoti M Malhotra, who is currently in custody for alleged espionage

for Pakistan, through a state-sponsored tourism programme. In a post on X, Surendran claimed that Jyoti Malhotra’s trip to Kannur was organized by Kerala Tourism, which is headed by Tourism

Minister Mohammed Riyas, the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Advertisement “Who did she meet? Where did she go? What’s the real agenda? Why is Kerala rolling out red carpets

for a Pak-linked spy?” Surendran asked in the post. Advertisement He further stated, “Pinarayi Vijayan is turning Kerala into a safe haven for internal and external threats to our nation.”

According to intelligence sources, Jyoti M Malhotra, who was arrested for spying for Pakistan, had visited Kerala three months ago and secretly recorded footage of high-security zones,

including strategically significant locations such as the Cochin Shipyard. The Special Branch of Kerala Police reportedly discovered that Malhotra had visited tourist destinations, shopping

malls, Kochi Metro and Water Metro stations, and had also captured scenes of sensitive installations like the Cochin Shipyard during her trip. Jyoti, a Haryana native with over 300,000

followers on YouTube, had uploaded multiple half-hour-long travel vlogs documenting her experiences in Kerala. In one video, she mentions tourist spots in Kochi, before casually showing the

Cochin Shipyard. Other videos highlight historic landmarks in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, and trips to Munnar, Kuthampully weaving village in Thrissur, and tourist destinations in Kannur

and Kozhikode. She also produced two videos on her visits to Munnar and Athirappilly. Additional vlogs cover Eravikulam National Park, Thekkady, Alappuzha houseboats, Kovalam, Jadayuppara,

Varkala, and Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station. Another vlog captures her journey from Kannur to Thrissur. Jyoti was arrested after it was found that she had been in direct contact

with Pakistani intelligence operatives, and had shared information that posed a threat to national security, police sources confirmed. Advertisement