New Delhi: Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was questioned by the police regarding her visits to the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. She is being investigated for allegedly spying for Pakistan and is currently in police custody.
Malhotra flew drone over Puri temple
The police in Puri are in the process of verifying claims that Malhotra flew a drone over the Jagannath Puri temple. This was in 2024, when she visited the shrine where UAVs are banned.
Apart from the Puri Police, Malhotra is also being investigated for her visit to Ujjain’s famous Mahakaleshwar temple. A team of Madhya Pradesh Police went to Haryana, where she has been detained to question her about her visit to Ujjain. She is reported to have visited the sacred place in April 2024.
The Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Ujjain, Nitesh Bhargava was quoted by PTI as saying “So far nothing incriminating had been discovered during the YouTuber’s questioning.. He further said, “The place is very sensitive and sees a huge number of footfalls daily, including devotees from overseas. So it was important to grill her. We took suo motu (on its own motion) action to send a team to Hisar (where she is being grilled by different agencies).”
The police officer said that so far nothing suspicious has been found regarding her visits to the Mahakaleshwar temple. According to him it was just a precautionary questioning by the Madhya Pradesh police.
The Odisha government, meanwhile, said that they were planning on installing an anti-drone system to bolster security at the Jagannath temple. This they said will help enhance security and improve surveillance in the area. The move is to check ““malicious UAVs”, they said.
Jyoti Malhotra arrested for espionage
YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra has been arrested for espionage. She was reportedly in touch with several Pakistani officials, including Danish who worked for the Pakistani Embassy in Delhi. He was expelled from India on May 13. She has been in touch with him from November 2023 to March 2025. She was also reportedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives.
The woman had visited Pakistan and her trips were sponsored allegedly by that country. She had also visited China. Her visits were shown as regular visits to get content for her YouTube channel and travel vlogs, but underneath it was a web of lies and deceit. She was allegedly involved in spying for Pakistan and was being cultivated as an asset.
Malhotra has been booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act. Apart from the different state police, she has also been questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), during her remand.
