JOIN USAfter a brief trip to the United States, actor Preity Zinta on Sunday returned to Mumbai and will soon submit her statement to police in a case against her ex-boyfriend and industrialist Ness Wadia.
The 39-year-old actor had on June 12 filed an FIR alleging that Wadia had outraged her modesty “in front of everyone” during an IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30.
Wadia, however, has dismissed the allegations as “false and baseless”. “As she has arrived in Mumbai, her statement will be recorded soon,” said DCP Ravindra Shisve, who is supervising the probe.
With the Mumbai Police having got no leads from CCTV footage it obtained, investigators want to ascertain exactly where and in front of whom the alleged incident took place. “We want to know where she was sitting and who ‘everyone’ is,” Shisve said.
The actress had claimed that Wadia had followed her to her seat and “started screaming and abusing” her in “front of everyone”.
“We will decide the further course of action once Zinta’s statement is recorded,” the DCP said. Investigators indicated that Wadia would be called for questioning only after the actor’s statement was recorded. Zinta and Wadia had broken off their five-year relationship a couple of years ago but continued to share business interests.
Several players and support staff from IPL team Kings XI Punjab, which Zinta and Wadia jointly own, and Wankhede Stadium officials were claimed to have been present at the time of the alleged incident.
So far the statements of at least seven witnesses, including IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman, have been recorded in connection with the case.