Hisar : A court in Hisar conducted a video conference hearing of Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Haryana, facing serious charges of espionage, accused of sharing sensitive military information with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
The accused was not physically present in court, with the proceedings held via video conferencing. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 16, when Jyoti Malhotra will be produced in person.
According to Jyoti's advocate, Kumar Mukesh, the court fixed the next date for September 16, and the charge sheet copy is yet to be received. Jyoti Malhotra was arrested on May 16 in Hisar, Haryana, under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Her arrest is part of a broader crackdown on Pakistan's spy network following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Malhotra was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan, with links to a Pakistani High Commission official in Delhi, Ahsan-ur-Rahim (also known as Danish), who India expelled on May 13 on espionage charges.
She is among 12 people arrested across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in a coordinated crackdown on a suspected spy ring that allegedly targeted Indian social media influencers to gather intelligence.
Investigations revealed that Malhotra had travelled to Pakistan multiple times and established contacts with officials from Pakistani intelligence agencies, including personnel from the Pakistan High Commission.
Malhotra's YouTube channel, 'Travel with Jo', hosts over 480 videos, many of which are from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Her bail plea was rejected by a court in Hisar on June 11, with the court citing ongoing investigations. Her judicial custody has been extended multiple times; the latest hearing via video conference was conducted today, with the next hearing scheduled for September 16.
According to officials, Jyoti allegedly met a Pakistani officer, Ahsan-ur-Rahim, in Delhi, travelled to Pakistan twice, and shared sensitive information. During the preliminary investigation, the woman informed the police that she had visited the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi in 2023 to apply for a visa and met a man named Ahsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish.
On August 16, Haryana Police filed a chargesheet in court against YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, a 33-year-old vlogger from Hisar, after completing their investigation in an alleged espionage case, officials said.
Earlier, Haris Malhotra, father of the woman arrested by Haryana Police on charges of spying, said that his daughter made YouTube videos and had visited Pakistan. He demanded the return of phones taken by the police.