YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested for spying for Pakistan, sent to 14-day judicial custody

YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, was remanded to a 14-day judicial custody on Monday.

The order was given by a local court in Haryana's Hisar.

The 33-year-old content creator and social media influencer had been arrested under suspicion of espionage and was in the custody of Hisar police till now.

Malhotra was among the 12 people arrested from states including Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on suspicion of espionage. Investigating officers are suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India.

On May 22, a local court in Hisar had extended YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's police custody by four days. That ended on May 26, following which the court sent her to judicial custody.

Who is ‘spy’ Jyoti Malhotra?

Jyoti Malhotra hails from Hisar, Haryana and used to run a YouTube channel “Travel with JO”.

She was arrested earlier this month at the New Aggarsain Extension and booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The police mentioned that no evidence has been found of Jyoti Malhotra's connection to terrorist activity or associations. 

“So far, we have not found any evidence of her involvement in any terror activity or her alignment with any terrorist group. We have not found any document which depicts that she wants to marry any PIOs or wants to change religion,” Hindustan Times quoted the Hisar SP as saying.

The YouTuber was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information and being in continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.

According to Hisar Superintendent of Police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan, Malhotra was being developed as an asset and had maintained ties with other YouTube influencers and Pakistani nationals

Sawan said, “She was in touch with other YouTube influencers, and they were also in contact with the Pakistan Information Officers (PIOs). She used to go to Pakistan, like on sponsored trips. She was in Pakistan before the Pahalgam attack, and the investigation is ongoing to establish any possible linkages.”

Jyoti Malhotra was interrogated for allegedly passing information to Pakistan. She allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information.

On May 23, a team of the Madhya Pradesh police grilled Jyoti Malhotra after it came to light she visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain. However, there was nothing incriminating found during the questioning, they said.