BHUBANESWAR: As Odisha Police stepped up investigation into the alleged links between Puri-based vlogger Priyanka Senapati and social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested by Haryana Police for allegedly spying for Pakistan, it has come to the fore that the former had also visited the neighbouring country earlier this year.
Police have found that Priyanka had visited the Kartarpur Sahib Sikh shrine about three months back. The vlogger had shared the videos of her tour on her YouTube account. But it has been ascertained that she was not accompanied by Jyoti during the visit.
“It is being verified, if Priyanka had gone there alone or was accompanied by anyone else. Probe is underway to establish whether her trip was as a plain tourist or there was any other motive behind it,” Puri SP Vinit Agrawal said on Sunday.
Investigators visited her house within Puri Town police limits on Sunday and questioned her. Police said, Priyanka and Jyoti had been to various places in the country including Jammu and Kashmir together. The duo had visited Gulmarg last year. Priyanka had reportedly also visited Pahalgam, where 26 tourists were killed by terrorists on April 22, during the same time. They had also visited Kerala together in February this year. The videos and pictures have been uploaded on social media.
Meanwhile, Priyanka issued a statement on her social media account stating that she had come in contact with Jyoti through YouTube. “I knew her professionally through content creation and was shocked on finding out that she was arrested for spying,” she said.
Priyanka further said that she would have never remained in touch with Jyoti if she had any knowledge about the latter’s purported links with Pakistan. “If any investigation agency wants to question me, I will extend my full cooperation,” she stated.
Her father told the mediapersons that they will completely cooperate in the investigation as it is a matter of national security and that his daughter had done nothing wrong.
Priyanka had come under police scanner after Jyoti was arrested on charges of having links with ISI operatives. Jyoti had come to Puri last year and both had visited Shree Jagannath temple, sea beach and other tourist places during the former’s stay here.
Apart from reportedly remaining in contact with the Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs), Jyoti was allegedly in touch with many YouTube influencers in India.
“As both seem to be pretty close to each other and have been touring different places together, it is being probed if Priyanka’s relation with Jyoti was purely professional or there is more to it. Her finances and income, call detail records as well as social media accounts are also being examined,” police sources said.
