Police grill YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra over Jagannath, Mahakaleshwar temple visits
Police have questioned Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra regarding her visits to the Shree Jagannath temple in Puri and the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain amid allegations of her being a spy for Pakistani authorities.
Puri Police are in the process of verifying allegations concerning Jyoti Malhotra, which claim that she had flown a drone over the Shree Jagannath temple during her visit to Puri in 2024, flouting a ban on UAVs around the sacred space.
Also Read: Cops issue big remark on Jyoti Malhotra's plans to 'marry in Pakistan'
A team of five Madhya Pradesh police personnel went to Haryana, where Malhotra had been kept in custody after her arrest, to question her after getting information that she had visited the Mahakaleshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in Ujjain in April last year.
Ujjain Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nitesh Bhargava told PTI that so far nothing incriminating had been discovered during the YouTuber's questioning.
Also Read: YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra was in touch with Pakistan operatives; no links to terror: Police
"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)," he said.
Bhargava added, 'We have not got any suspicious things (in connection to her Ujjain visit) as of now. It (questioning) was just our precautionary exercise. What was the harm in it?'
Also Read: How ex-Pakistan high commission staffer Danish targeted YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra
Meanwhile, the Odisha government announced on Friday that were considering installing an anti-drone system to bolster security at the temple and prevent the entry of unauthorised or 'malicious' UAVs.
'We are mulling over the idea of installing an anti-drone system for added security of the Puri temple, as done by defence establishments,' the state's law minister Prithviraj Harichandan told PTI.
The 33-year-old travel blogger was arrested on May 16 for allegedly sharing sensitive information with Pakistani operatives. She was booked under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act.
During the remand period, she was questioned by National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials.
Malhotra had allegedly been in touch with Danish, a Pakistani high commission official expelled from India on May 13, from November 2023 to March 2025. She was introduced to Danish at the Pakistan High Commission by Singh when she went to apply for a visa to Pakistan.
Several other YouTubers have also been questioned regarding connections to Pakistan, including Odisha-based travel blogger Priyanka Senapati, who had escorted Malhotra around Puri during the latter's visit to Odisha.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
20 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Priyanka Chaturvedi slams Pak's UN role: 'Like making Masood Azhar peace professor'
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Saturday slammed the United Nations Security Council for appointing Pakistan as the vice-chair of the anti-terror panel, saying that 52 designated terrorists reside in Pakistan. Priyanka Chaturvedi said India is a tolerant nation but also a land of Krishna, where is fought. 'Pakistan has become a part of the UN Security Council. You all are aware that 52 terrorists reside in Pakistan. But they have been given the vice chairmanship of counter-terrorism,' Chaturvedi said in Berlin, according to ANI. "It is just like saying Masood Azhar to be the professor of global needs to be called out. The whole world is suffering due to this..." she added. 'We are often told that India is a tolerant nation, yes, India is a tolerant nation. We are a land of Mahatma and Buddha, but we are also the land of Krishna. Whenever there is injustice and we have to fight with the terrorists to serve justice, we will do that without any hesitation...' Chaturvedi was quoted as saying by ANI. Also Read | 'Defence may be the wrong word': Shashi Tharoor points at 'China factor' in Pakistan conflict Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2025-26 term, will chair the Council's Taliban Sanctions Committee for 2025 and will be vice-chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the 15-nation UN organ. The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP is part of an all-party delegation to Europe to brief key interlocutors about the threat of Pakistan-backed terrorism faced by India and India's strong resolve against terrorism. Also Read | Pakistan handicapped without China's support: Asaduddin Owaisi The delegation arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism. The delegation is led by Ravi Shankar Prasad and includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Congress MP Amar Singh and Gulam Ali Khatana, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai, former Union Minister MJ Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran.
India.com
26 minutes ago
- India.com
Pak Generals Want Conflict To Remain Relevant: Ravi Shankar In Germany
BJP MP and leader of the all-party delegation Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Pakistan's military establishment for supporting terrorism, saying that its Generals want conflicts to remain relevant and use terrorists as a tool to destabilise India. Addressing a community event with the Indian diaspora in Berlin, Prasad pointed out that while both India and Pakistan were born on the same day, the former has made remarkable progress in IT and space, in contrast to Islamabad. "India and Pakistan were born the same day. Where are we in India, and where are they (Pakistan)? India has become a major global IT power in the world. India has become an emerging space power in the world. The startup movements here are now globally recognised. India has also become the second biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. We have brought digital transformation with equity and justice," ANI quoted Prasad as saying. Prasad claimed that Pakistan only knows how to prepare world-class terrorists under its military leadership. He said that wherever there is a terrorist, he is either a Pakistani or trained in Pakistan. "What Pakistan is doing is creating terror machines. How to create world-class terrorists under their (military) Generals. They attacked us four times and lost every time. We never attacked; they were the ones who always started the war. It is because they are under the control of Generals and not political leaders. Generals want conflict to keep themselves relevant, and terrorists are the instruments through which they execute. Wherever there is a terrorist, either he is a Pakistani or trained in Pakistan," he added. Prasad also spoke about the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's decisive response through Operation Sindoor on May 7, noting that Operation Sindoor remains paused but ready to resume based on Pakistan's actions. "Pahalgam attack happened on April 22. We attacked on May 7 and hit the terrorist camps. If Pakistan has to talk, it must directly speak to us. Our message was stern and straight: If you stop, we stop. If you fire, we will give a stronger reply. Operation Sindoor is on pause, subject to the good behaviour of Pakistan. It has not ended," he stated. An all-party delegation, led by Ravi Shankar Prasad, is currently visiting Germany as part of the Indian government's initiative to engage with key partner nations, including members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism. This initiative follows the tragic April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 innocent civilians lost their lives to gunfire from terrorists. The Delegation includes BJP MPs Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya, Congress MP Amar Singh and Gulam Ali Khatana, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai, former Union Minister MJ Akbar and former diplomat Pankaj Saran. The delegation arrived in Germany after concluding their visit to Belgium to convey India's resolute and united stand against terrorism.
New Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Indore couple was accompanied by three men on day they went missing, claims guide
SHILLONG: A tourist guide on Saturday claimed that the honeymoon couple from Indore, Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, was accompanied by three men on the day they went missing from Meghalaya's Sohra area. An official confirmed that the guide had provided this information to the police. While the couple went missing on May 23, Raja's body was found in a gorge on June 2 while a search for his wife was underway. Speaking to PTI, Albert Pde, a guide at Mawlakhiat, said he had seen the couple accompanied by three male tourists as they were climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23. He said he recognised the couple as he had offered his services to them on the previous day to climb down to Nongriat but they had politely refused and hired another guide. "The four men were walking ahead while the woman was behind. The four men were conversing in Hindi but I could not understand what they were speaking as I know only Khasi and English," Pde said. He said that he had offered his services to take them to Nongriat on May 22 but they had hired another guide, named Bha Wansai, and spent the night at Shipara homestay and returned the next day without a guide. "By the time I reached Mawlakhiat, their scooter was not there," the guide claimed. He has also given his statement to the police.
