A court in Hisar on Monday extended the judicial custody of YouTuber and social media influencer Jyoti Malhotra by 14 days in connection with an ongoing espionage investigation.

Malhotra, who runs the YouTube channel Travel with JO, was arrested on May 16 from the New Aggarsain Extension area and booked under the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Her lawyer, Kumar Mukesh, confirmed that the 33-year-old appeared before the court via video conferencing and that the next hearing is scheduled for July 21. The court has rejected her regular bail plea earlier, with police opposing the request, citing the pending investigation.

Following her arrest, Malhotra was initially sent to five days of police custody, which was subsequently extended by four more days for further questioning. On May 26, she was remanded to judicial custody, which has been periodically extended since.

While police have stated that there is no evidence suggesting Malhotra accessed classified military or defence material, they claim she was knowingly in touch with individuals identified as Pakistani intelligence agents. Investigators allege that since November 2023, she had been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim, alias Danish, a Pakistani High Commission staffer who was expelled from India on May 13 over alleged espionage activities. Authorities claim efforts were underway to cultivat.