Espionage case: Hisar court extends social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra's judicial custody

Hisar: A local court on Monday extended the judicial custody of social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra and fixed her case's hearing on June 23.

The 33-year-old YouTuber appeared before the court of Hisar Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Sunil Kumar through video conferencing on Monday which extended her judicial custody by two weeks.

"The court has extended her judicial custody and fixed June 23 for the next hearing in this case," her lawyer Kumar Mukesh said.

Hisar Police arrested Malhotra on suspicion of espionage on May 16. She was subsequently remanded to five days of police custody by the court.

Following the completion of the remand, the court extended it by four more days on the police's plea for further questioning.

On May 26, the court remanded her to judicial custody for 14 days.

Malhotra, who hails from the city, ran a YouTube channel "Travel with JO".

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

Hisar Police previously said no evidence had emerged to indicate Malhotra had access to any military- or defence-related information but claimed she was in contact with some people, aware that they were Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO).

Police sources said she was in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023.

India expelled Danish on May 13 for allegedly indulging in espionage.

The police have claimed Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing Malhotra as an asset.

Punjab Police recently said Punjab-based YouTuber Jasbir Singh, who was arrested on espionage charges on June 4, was in close contact with Malhotra.

Singh, who was found to be associated with a PIO, was in touch with a Pakistan High Commission official who was recently expelled from New Delhi on charges of spying and had met Pakistan Army officials during one of his three visits to the neighbouring country, Punjab Police said previously.

After Malhotra's arrest, Singh attempted to erase all traces of his communications with these PIOs to avoid detection, Punjab Police added.