Alia Bhatt’s Ex-Assistant Arrested for Allegedly Duping Her of Rs 77 Lakh

In a significant development, Vedika Prakash Shetty, the former personal assistant of prominent Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding the actress of a substantial amount, reported to be around Rs 77 lakh. The arrest, made by Juhu Police in Bengaluru, brings a conclusion to a five-month-long search after a complaint was filed by Alia Bhatt’s mother, veteran actress Soni Razdan.

The alleged financial irregularities, amounting to approximately Rs 76.9 lakh, are said to have impacted both Alia Bhatt’s personal accounts and her production company, Eternal Sunshine Productions Pvt. Ltd. Police investigations indicate that the fraud was meticulously carried out between May 2022 and August 2024.

According to police sources, Vedika Prakash Shetty, who served as Alia Bhatt’s personal assistant from 2021 to 2024, was entrusted with managing the actress’s financial documents, handling payments, and overseeing her schedule. It is alleged that during this period, Shetty exploited her position of trust to create numerous fake invoices. These fraudulent bills, designed to appear authentic using professional tools, were then presented to Alia Bhatt for approval, often disguised as expenses related to travel, meetings, and other work-related arrangements.

Once Alia Bhatt unknowingly signed off on these invoices, the funds were reportedly transferred to the bank account of a friend of Vedika Shetty. This friend would then reverse the money back into Shetty’s personal account, a method designed to obscure the financial trail.

The matter came to light when Soni Razdan filed a complaint with the Juhu police on January 23, following which a case was registered under sections relating to criminal breach of trust and cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Following the complaint, Vedika Prakash Shetty reportedly went on the run, frequently changing her location across states including Rajasthan, Karnataka, Pune, and finally Bengaluru, in an attempt to evade arrest.

After an extensive search operation, Juhu police successfully traced Shetty to Bengaluru, where she was taken into custody. She has since been brought to Mumbai on a transit remand and produced before the court, which has remanded her to police custody until July 10, 2025, for further investigation. Authorities are currently scrutinizing her bank accounts and financial records to uncover the full extent of the alleged fraud and determine if any accomplices were involved.

As of now, neither Alia Bhatt nor her official team has issued a public statement regarding the incident. The case highlights the vulnerabilities individuals, even public figures, can face when entrusting financial management to external parties.