MUMBAI: The Marine Drive police have decided to record actress Preity Zinta’s statement once again in connection with the FIR that she had filed against her ex-boyfriend and business tycoon Ness Wadia on Thursday night. They have got in touch with her lawyer as the actress is not in the country.
Investigations into the case have gathered steam, with the police on Saturday recording the statements of two persons who were in Wankhede Stadium on May 30, when Preity was allegedly verbally abused and manhandled by the 44-year-old Wadia during the Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings match.
“The statements of two people, who were at the Garware Pavilion in Wankhede Stadium on May 30, when the alleged incident happened, were recorded last night,” a police official said yesterday. He, however, refused to reveal the identity of the witnesses or the contents of their statements.
The police are also trying to get hold of an e-mail that Preity had allegedly sent to Wadia warning him about his behaviour as that could be a crucial piece of evidence. Preity had said in her statement that she had warned Ness that she would report him to the police if he misbehaves, said officials.
Clarity sought
Officials said they are in the process of writing to the Wankhede Stadium authorities to give them a list of employees who were at Garware Pavillion when the incident took place. “We want more witnesses to the incident and will also call people who were with Preity and Wadia to get their statements,” said an officer from Marine Drive police station.
A visit to Garware Stadium was made by police officers to get a clear picture of how the incident may have happened. “This is why we need Preity’s statement again. We need clarity on how everything happened, so we can make a watertight case,” added the officer. The cops have already received CCTV footage of that night from Wankhede Stadium, but officials say nothing can be seen in it.
Not the first?
In her three-page statement on Thursday night, Preity had told the police that Wadia had misbehaved with her during the IPL auctions in Bangalore in February and the IPL CEO had intervened then. The police are likely to also call the IPL CEO for his statement. Police officials said they will call Wadia to get his statement only after all this, and then decide on further action in the matter.
Argument over seats
A source close to Wadia told this newspaper that he and Preity had an argument that day over seats in the pavilion. Wadia had reached the stadium late and had found that all the seats were occupied by Preity and her friends, leaving no space for his mother, who was left standing for 20 minutes. This sparked the argument.

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