YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra sent to 14-day judicial custody by Hisar court

Hisar (Haryana): YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan, was on Monday sent to 14 days of judicial custody by a court in Haryana’s Hisar following the completion of her police remand.

Malhotra was earlier in nine-day police custody, during which she was interrogated intensively by the local police and central intelligence agencies in connection with alleged espionage activities. This was her third round of remand since her arrest.

The 36-year-old content creator was arrested on May 16 under the Official Secrets Act and provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. She is one of 12 individuals detained across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in a larger probe into an alleged spy ring.

Investigations revealed that Malhotra had been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. Danish was expelled by India on May 13 for suspected involvement in espionage.

According to sources, intelligence agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau, and Military Intelligence, also questioned Malhotra.

She had reportedly travelled to countries including Pakistan and Indonesia in recent years.

Officials suspect that Pakistani intelligence was grooming her as a potential “asset.”

It is further alleged that Malhotra was in touch with Danish during the four-day military standoff between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

During the investigation, police recovered deleted chats from her mobile phone and laptop.

Meanwhile, data from Malhotra’s three mobile phones and a laptop, which had been sent for forensic examination, has been recovered, police sources said on Monday.

“Nearly 10-12 terabytes of data have been recovered. Further investigation in this regard is in progress,” they said.

However, according to a statement from the Hisar Superintendent of Police, no evidence has so far emerged indicating that Malhotra accessed any classified defence or strategic information, nor have investigators found any link to terrorist organisations or direct involvement in terrorist activities.

The case remains under active investigation.

IANS