Alia Bhatt’s ex-PA arrested in ₹76.9 lakh fraud case after months on the run

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt’s former personal assistant, Vedika Prakash Shetty, was arrested by Juhu Police from Bengaluru in connection with an alleged fraud of ₹76.9 lakh. The arrest follows an FIR registered in January 2024 after Bhatt’s mother, Soni Razdan, filed a complaint with Mumbai Police. Shetty was produced before the Bandra Magistrate’s court on July 8 and has been remanded to police custody till July 10.

According to officials, Shetty had been employed by Bhatt’s production house, Eternal Sunshine Productions Private Limited, since 2021. She allegedly created and submitted fake invoices over a span of two years. These invoices were reportedly approved using forged signatures of the actor, resulting in the misappropriation of funds from both the company and Bhatt’s personal accounts.

The police stated that Shetty routed the money through a friend’s bank account to disguise the transactions. The friend then returned the funds to Shetty’s personal account. Investigating officers said that while the friend did not retain any share of the embezzled amount, both individuals are being questioned to trace and recover the full sum.

Juhu Police confirmed that Shetty had been evading arrest since the FIR was filed, frequently changing her location to avoid being tracked. She was finally traced to Bengaluru through technical surveillance and was taken into custody on July 8. The arrest was made by a team that had been monitoring her movements for several weeks.

The case has been registered under Sections 316(4) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which relate to forgery and criminal breach of trust. Police have not confirmed the total amount recovered so far, and the investigation is ongoing. No official statement has been released by Alia Bhatt or her representatives regarding the case.