Alia Bhatt’s ex assistant arrested for cheating her of Rs 77 lakh

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, July 9, 2025: Alia Bhatt’s former personal assistant has been arrested for cheating the actor of Rs 77 lakh. Vedika Prakash Shetty, 32, is accused of committing irregularities worth Rs 76.9 lakh in Ms Bhatt’s production company, Eternal Sunshine Productions Private Limited, and her personal accounts.

This fraud, police have said, was committed between May 2022 and August 2024. The matter came to light after Alia Bhatt’s mother, actor-director Soni Razdan, filed a complaint with Juhu police on January 23. Thereafter, a case was registered under sections relating to criminal breach of trust and cheating and police started looking for Vedika Shetty.

According to police sources, Vedika Shetty worked as Ms Bhatt’s personal assistant from 2021 to 2024. During this time, she handled the actor’s financial documents and payments and planned her schedule.

The investigation has revealed that Vedika Shetty allegedly prepared fake bills, got Ms Bhatt to sign them and siphoned off the money, police sources have said. She told the actor that the expenses were for her travel, meetings and other related arrangements.

Vedika Shetty, the probe has found, used professional tools to make these fake bills look authentic. After Ms Bhatt signed them, the amounts were transferred to the account of her friend, who would then route the money back to Vedika Shetty.

After Ms Razdan filed a police complaint, Vedika Shetty was on the run and kept changing her location. She was tracked down to Rajasthan, then to Karnataka, then to Pune and then to Bengaluru. Eventually, Juhu police caught up with her in Bengaluru and arrested her. She was then brought to Mumbai on a transit demand.