MP cops grill YouTuber Jyoti on her Mahakal Temple visit, nothing suspicious found: Official

Bhopal: A Madhya Pradesh police team grilled YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on suspicion of espionage, in Haryana after it came to light she visited the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, but nothing incriminating came out during the questioning, an official said on Friday.

The 33-year-old content creator and social media influencer is currently in the custody of police in Hisar, Haryana.

Malhotra was among the 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks on suspicion of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India A team of five Madhya Pradesh cops went to Haryana to grill her after getting information that she had visited the famous temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the ancient holy city of Ujjain in April last year.

The team grilled her but nothing incriminating or suspicious about her visit to the temple has come out, Ujjain Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nitesh Bhargava told PTI over the phone.

"The team is scheduled to return tonight (Friday) or by tomorrow (Saturday). The team was sent four days ago," he said.

Hisar-based Malhotra, who ran a YouTube channel titled 'Travel with JO', was arrested from the New Aggarsain Extension on May 16. She was booked under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the BNS, according to police.

The YouTuber had put out photos and videos (on different social media platforms) and police had information that she came to Mahakal Temple for darshan in April last year, said the officer.

"The place is very sensitive and sees a huge number of footfalls daily, including devotees from overseas. So it was important to grill her. We took suo motu (on its own motion) action to send a team to Hisar (where she is being grilled by different agencies)," he added.

She stood in the queue like common devotees and had the darshan of the deity, the ASP said.

"We have not got any suspicious things (in connection to her Ujjain visit) as of now. It (questioning) was just our precautionary exercise. What was the harm in it?," Bhargava asked.