File photo: Actor Preity Zinta and Industrialist Ness Wadia
Ness Wadia, scion of a business conglomerate who has been accused by his former girlfriend, actor Preity Zinta, of threatening her, has written to Mumbai Police naming nine witnesses who were present at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30, when the alleged incident took place, say sources.
Mr Wadia, 44, has asked the police to record their statements, while insisting that that the allegations levelled against him by the actor were "false".
The Mumbai Police, the sources added, will record Mr Wadia's statement in the next 48 hours, days after it finished examining those witnesses who were sitting next to Ms Zinta at the stadium at the time of the alleged incident. (
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Ms Zinta, 39, has accused Mr Wadia of abusing and threatening her during the match played by the Indian Premier League cricket team they co-own, the Kings XI Punjab.
According to sources, three witnesses have confirmed the sequence of events as narrated by Ms Zinta in her statement to the police, which she had recorded on June 24 at the Wankhede Stadium, the site of the alleged incident. (
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But one of the witnesses, an official of the Kings XI Punjab team, reportedly told the police that he did not see what exactly transpired. He has told the police that he witnessed an argument over the seats but did not see Mr Wadia misbehave, sources added. (
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Top sources in the Mumbai Police have told NDTV that any decision on action against Mr Wadia will be taken only after the police finish recording the statements of all the witnesses named by Ms. Zinta. (
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On Monday, Ms Zinta had met Mumbai Police Commissioner Mr Rakesh Maria to seek permission to travel abroad as the police had asked her to return to the country after she had filed a complaint against Mr Wadia.