Court extends YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's judicial custody till September 3

A Hisar court on Monday extended till September 3, the judicial custody of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who was arrested in May on suspicion of espionage. Melhotra appeared before judicial magistrate (first class) Sunil Kumar, who remanded her to judicial custody till September 3, her lawyer Kumar Mukesh said. Malhotra, who hails from Hisar and ran a YouTube channel "Travel with JO", was arrested by Hisar Police on May 16. She was arrested at the New Aggarsain Extension and booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). On June 9, a court rejected her regular bail plea. Police had then opposed the bail, arguing that the investigation in this case was still underway.

Hisar Police previously said no evidence emerged to indicate Malhotra had access to any military or defence-related information, but claimed she was in contact with some people and was aware that they were Pakistani intelligence operatives. Police sources had previously 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. Police in May claimed Pakistani intelligence operatives were developing Malhotra as an "asset".