Espionage case: Court denies bail to YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra

A local court in Haryana's Hisar on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of social media influencer Jyoti Kumari Malhotra, arrested on suspicion of espionage last month, her lawyer said.

Her bail plea was heard by judicial magistrate (first class) Sunil Kumar through her lawyer Kumar Mukesh. The police opposed the bail plea and argued the case's investigation was underway.

Mukesh said the court after hearing the arguments of both the parties rejected her bail plea. On 9 June, the court extended Malhotra's judicial custody and fixed her case hearing for 23 June. The 33-year-old YouTuber appeared before the court through video-conferencing.

Hisar Police arrested Malhotra on suspicion of espionage on 16 May and she was subsequently remanded to five days of police custody by the court. Following the completion of remand, the court extended the custody by four more days after the police sought to question her further. On 26 May, the court remanded her to judicial custody for 14 days.

Malhotra, a resident of Hisar, ran a YouTube channel called '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 that 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 had previously said she was in touch with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a staffer at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi, since November 2023. India expelled Danish on 13 May for allegedly indulging in espionage.

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