Why YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra's father failed to meet her in court

Jyoti Malhotra’s police custody was extended by four days while the police sought a seven-day remand during the court hearing on Thursday.

Haryana YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra, who has been arrested for allegedly spying for Islamabad and being in touch with Pakistani officials, was produced in a Hisar court on Thursday. Her father, Harish Malhotra, who wanted to see his daughter, also reached the court. However, by the time he had reached, Jyoti had already left, The Tribune reported.

Travel blogger Jyoti Malhotra, 33, a resident of Hisar, was arrested on May 16 for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani operatives.(File)

Harish Malhotra said someone gave him the wrong time. "I was told that she would be produced in court in the afternoon, so I went there then. But by the time I reached the venue, she had already left. Someone gave me the wrong timing," the report quoted him as saying.

Jyoti Malhotra was produced before the court of civil judge (junior division) Sunil Kumar in Haryana amid heavy security around 9.30 am and remained there until nearly 11 am.

During the hearing, Jyoti’s police custody was extended by four days while the police sought a seven-day remand.

Jyoti Malhotra’s arrest

The YouTuber, 33, who hails from Haryana’s Hisar, was arrested on May 16 on charges of allegedly spying for Pakistan. She was produced in a local court the next day and was sent to a five-day police custody. She was taken to the court on Thursday after her five-day remand ended.

Jyoti has been booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

She is among several people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the last few weeks over espionage charges.

So far, no evidence has emerged indicating that Jyoti had access to any sensitive information related to military or defence. However, she was definitely in touch with some Pakistani officials, according to Hisar police.

Jyoti Malhotra runs a YouTube channel called ‘Travel with JO’ where she shares her travel vlogs. She has uploaded several videos of her visit to Pakistan on her channel.

With inputs from Sunil Rahar.