Alia Bhatt’s former personal assistant has been arrested for allegedly defrauding the Bollywood actor of nearly Rs 77 lakh, according to news reports.

The accused, one Vedika Prakash Shetty, 32, siphoned off Rs 76.9 lakh from Bhatt’s personal accounts and her production house, Eternal Sunshine Productions Private Limited, police sources told news agency PTI.

The alleged financial misconduct is said to have occurred between May 2022 and August 2024. The matter came to light earlier this year when Alia’s mother Soni Razdan, filed a complaint with the Juhu police in February.

Shetty, who worked as Bhatt’s personal assistant from 2021 to 2024, was reportedly entrusted with the actor’s financial documents, payment processes, and scheduling. During this period, she allegedly prepared forged bills for travel and professional expenses, which were then submitted for approval.

Reports suggest that the actress, unaware of the alleged forgery, signed the documents, following which the funds were transferred to an account linked to an associate of Shetty. The money was later routed back to her, police sources have said.

According to a report by PTI, Shetty had been absconding since the case was registered and had frequently changed her location, travelling across Rajasthan, Karnataka, Pune and Bengaluru to evade arrest.

She was eventually traced to Bengaluru, where she was taken into custody and brought to Mumbai on a transit remand.

Further investigation is underway. Neither Bhatt nor her team has issued an official statement on the incident.