Court sends YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra to judicial custody in espionage case
Hisar, May 26 (PTI): A court here on Monday remanded YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra to judicial custody after the end of her police remand in a case of alleged espionage.
The 33-year-old travel influencer was produced in the court. A police spokesperson said that they did not seek her further remand after which the court sent her to jail.
Meanwhile, data from Malhotra's three mobile phones and a laptop, which had been sent for forensic examination, has been recovered, police sources said on Monday.
"Nearly 10-12 terabytes of data has been recovered. Further investigation in this regard is under progress," they said.
After her arrest, the police had sent Malhotra's three mobile phones and a laptop for forensic examination. Malhotra's four bank accounts are also being examined.
The court had extended Malhotra's police remand by four days when the YouTuber -- arrested on suspicion of espionage -- was last week produced before the court at the end of her five-day police remand.
Malhotra was among the 12 people arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over the past three weeks on suspicion of espionage, with investigators suspecting the presence of a Pakistan-linked spy network operating in north India.
The Hisar native ran a YouTube channel -- "Travel with JO". She was arrested at the New Aggarsain Extension recently and booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Hisar police had said that no evidence had emerged to indicate Malhotra had access to any military or defence related information.
But she was definitely in contact with some people, knowing that they were Pakistani intelligence operatives, they had said.
Police sources had 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 National Investigation Agency, Intelligence Bureau, and military intelligence officials have also questioned Malhotra.
Investigations have revealed that she visited Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and some other countries.
She was also allegedly in touch with Danish during the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan that followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, they had said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
