Alia Bhatt's ex-PA Vedika arrested for cheating actress of Rs 77 lakh

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt's former personal assistant, Vedika Shetty has been arrested for cheating the actor of Rs 77 lakh. Shetty 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. According to police, 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.

She was arrested from Bengaluru on Tuesday by the Juhu Police and produced before the Bandra Magistrate where she was remanded to police custody till July 10. Shetty was employed with the production company since 2021.The reported fraud 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 this year. 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 officials said that Shetty had presented several fake invoices to Bhatt which were signed by her. Shetty then routed the money to her friend's account who reversed the payments in her personal account.

The police said that they have arrested Shetty as she had been absconding and constantly changing her location. She was tracked down to Rajasthan, then to Karnataka, then to Pune and then to Bengaluru. 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.