Alia Bhatt’s ex-assistant held for ₹77L fraud, splurged on shopping

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt’s former personal assistant Vedika Prakash Shetty has been arrested for allegedly siphoning off nearly ₹77 lakh from the actor's production house.

- Megha Sood

According to police sources, Shetty splurged the stolen money on iPhones, iPads, high-end kitchen appliances, and sent money to at least five other individuals. What remained, she confessed, was spent on lavish parties and shopping sprees.

The fraud came to light after Bhatt’s mother, actor Soni Razdan, noticed discrepancies in vendor invoices and payment records, prompting an internal inquiry that unravelled a trail of deceit.

The 32-year-old was tracked down to her sister's home in Bengaluru on Tuesday by the Juhu police and will be in police custody till Thursday. She had allegedly been on the run for months — first fleeing to her native village near Mangalore and later to Rajasthan — after an FIR was filed in January.