Alia Bhatt's former secretary Vedika Shetty arrested for ₹76 lakh fraud

Vedika Shetty, who managed finances at Alia Bhatt's production house Eternal Sunshine, was held in Bengaluru after allegedly embezzling ₹76 lakh over a two-year period

The Mumbai police have arrested Vedika Prakash Shetty, former secretary to actor Alia Bhatt, in a case of financial fraud involving ₹76 lakh. She was tracked down in Bengaluru and brought back to Mumbai for interrogation.

 

How the fraud was uncovered

According to a Hindustan Times report, Shetty misused her role at Eternal Sunshine Production Pvt Ltd - Alia Bhatt’s production house - to siphon funds from the company’s account to a friend’s, who in turn routed the money to her. The alleged fraud took place between 2022 and 2024.

 

Soni Razdan, Alia Bhatt’s mother, lodged a complaint in January this year after spotting financial irregularities. A formal FIR was registered at Juhu Police Station, prompting a detailed probe.

 

What are the charges against Vedika Prakash Shetty?

Shetty reportedly went into hiding and kept changing locations to avoid arrest. Mumbai police arrested her in Bengaluru and brought her to the city for questioning.

 

She has been booked under Sections 316(4) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertain to criminal breach of trust and dishonestly inducing delivery of property. Investigators are now reviewing her bank records to determine the full scale of the alleged embezzlement.

 

No official statement yet from Alia Bhatt’s firm

Eternal Sunshine has not released a public statement regarding the incident. The company, launched in 2021, is known for producing the Netflix film Darlings, co-produced with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.