Espionage Case: Hisar Court Denies Bail To YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra In Official Secrets Act Probe

Hisar, Jun 11: A local court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of social media influencer Jyoti 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 June 9, the court extended Malhotra's judicial custody and fixed her case's hearing on June 23.

The 33-year-old YouTuber appeared before the court through video-conferencing. Hisar Police arrested Malhotra on suspicion of espionage on May 16 and she was subsequently remanded to five days of police custody by the court. Following the completion of the remand, the court extended the custody by four more days after the police sought to question her further.

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

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