Preity Zinta Files Molestation Case Against Ness Wadia
Preity Zinta Files Molestation Case Against Ness Wadia  Mumbai:  Actor
https://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/favicon.ico
Post by jabimetbollywood on

The comments a lot of people are making about Preity right now are sickening.

I agree. It literally sickens me to read comments along the lines of "she already slept with him, so she can't complain about him touching her."

Preity posted the following on her facebook page:

"From my heart….

I may not be super wealthy and powerful but i have truth by my side and I’ve worked very hard all my life and tried to earn respect for myself as a self made professional. It saddens me that no one at work or around ever stood up for me in the past when i was abused and insulted publicly. This time i was left with no option but to take this stern step as this incident happened in front of way too many people.

Sometimes we are so ashamed and humiliated that we fool ourselves to believe that no one saw what happened . Everyone always looks away as if they don't exist or then we don’t exist. People are embarrassed just enough to look away, but not too embarrassed to intervene.

Ironically what happened at Wankade is being diluted by every other fabricated story about my character except the truth of what happened. I'm sure the witnesses will speak the truth and i trust and believe that the police will do their job fairly and quickly.

No woman likes to be involved in a controversy like this which makes her open and vulnerable for all to take a dig at. I have worked for over 15 years in the film industry and have never been subject to such humiliating behaviour and for that i really want to thank all the men that worked with me. Through all our highs and lows my head was always held high.

Every human being has a limit to how much they can take ; some of us foolishly call it strength and try to look ahead focusing on the positives of work and life. All these years i have never said anything about him in the media but now i have no choice.

I humbly request the media and my supporters to pls focus on the issue and the incident that happened in Wankade and not turn this and me into a TV soap. This is not easy for me and my intention is not to harm anyone but simply to protect myself and to stand up for myself. I don’t want any sympathy from anyone but i will sincerely appreciate it if people do not try to take away my dignity in the process of my fight for respect at my workplace. I think after all these years i deserve it and I’m not asking for too much.

Thank you."

Post by rose on

Mumbai police on Saturday identified two people who allegedly saw Bollywood actor and Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta abused and molested by her former boyfriend and industrialist Ness Wadia at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30.

The 39-year-old actor’s molestation complaint has also revealed that this wasn’t the first time she had been abused by Wadia.

Police said they have been unable to contact the witnesses so far but their statements will be recorded soon. The IPL COO Sundar Raman may also be questioned with regard to an earlier incident of abuse as alleged by Zinta.

The police may also ask for official IPL footage as Zinta has alleged Wadia abused and insulted her on the cricket ground too.

Zinta said that Wadia had threatened her with dire consequences and intimidated her by boasting of his political clout and connections. “… he said he could make me disappear as I was nobody and only an actress and he’s a powerful person”.

In an emotional Facebook post titled “From my heart”, Zinta said people in the past had looked away when Wadia abused her but she had to report the Wankhede incident as it had “happened in front of way too many people”.

In her FIR (a copy is with HT) Zinta alleged that besides the public abuse at Wankhede, Wadia had abused her during a player auction in Bengaluru in February. The spat then had gotten so bad that IPL COO Sundar Raman had to intervene, Zinta alleged. “We will be recording the statement of Raman too,” a police source said.

A senior police official said after verifying the actor’s allegations, the police would decide whether to record Wadia’s statement or arrest him

The National Commission for Women has also decided to take suo motu cognizance and will conduct an investigation.

Meanwhile, Wadia has denied all allegations and a source close to him said the industrialist, “had booked about 14 seats in Garware Pavilion (Wankhede Stadium) and had got angry when he saw his mother Maureen Wadia standing for around 20 minutes as all seats had been occupied by Zinta and her guests.

Wadia argued with the actor over lack of courtesy being shown to his elderly mother, which has now been twisted and turned into a molestation case”.

What went wrong?

A source close to the former couple, who wishes to remain anonymous, has told HT that the two used to "quarrel a lot in their five-year-long courtship".

The source adds, "Preity is currently in the US. But before leaving, she had confided in me about this incident that took place on May 30, also Ness's birthday. Preity confided that during an argument, Ness got rude in front of people and strongly held her by the arm, leaving bruises."

The source dismisses speculation that the presence of another girl in Wadia's life could have been the reason for a discord. "Ness is seeing a 23-year-old woman, Hannah, who is not Indian. The two met during this season of IPL itself. She can't be the reason for the argument at all. Preity and Ness have been dating different people after they ended their relationship and there has never been jealousy," says the source.

www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/tabloid/ness-wadia-said-he-could-make-me-disappear-as-i-was-nobody-preity-zinta/article1-1229464.aspx

if you go the article they have quotes from her complaint embedded in the picture. She says he grabbed her arm and left bruises.

This is extra sad because they're business partners and co-owner and I wonder if her share in the team will survive this.

Post by James on

If that blind item is true, that behaviour is criminal. Basically, it's kidnapping, criminal confinement. It would be interesting to hear more about it. Anyway, here's an opinion piece by Shobha De on the matter:

Preity Zinta Will Find Herself Increasingly Isolated

Shobhaa De

That's the damn problem with celebrity spats - the personal becomes more important than the larger issues raised.

When such spats involve a beautiful and brave former 'Bollywood star' who is facing a slow and painful fade-out, and a volatile rich man who happens to be a former lover and current business partner, it's a made-for-media story all the way.

The easiest thing to do with all the juicy material flying around is to dismiss it as a high-profile lovers' tiff, as certain journalists with deeply-vested interests have tried to do.

Once you reduce the case to nothing more serious than a former girlfriend's public pique at being dumped and possibly replaced by a younger, hotter woman, perspectives change and opinions alter. In Bambaiya-speak, it becomes another flippant Bollywood 'lafda', worth milking by scoop- famished mediawallas .

It also makes Zinta look bad. Perhaps, that's the whole idea. Preity is being projected as either a 'poor thing' who can't handle rejection, or a neurotic, high -pitched, out-of-control woman chasing publicity at any cost. This is grossly unfair to Zinta. As it would be to any other woman caught in similar circumstances.

Let's be honest : It takes guts to file an FIR against a powerful person who has allegedly been abusive in public. Abuse is abuse - verbal, physical, sexual. This is not a fight between equals. Pitted against Zinta is a wealthy, well-connected, individual. Zinta will find herself increasingly isolated, not just by her own film industry colleagues (evasive!), but even by those in her social circuit. That's Mumbai.

Zinta is no longer regarded as a force to reckon with in Bollywood - she has made too many professional mistakes, turning a flop producer being the latest. That's how it goes in the movie business - a female star is only as valuable as her last week's box office collections. Most fans will find it difficult to recall Zinta's last commercial hit. Becoming the part owner of an IPL team that narrowly missed the cup this season has ensured a certain level of visibility.

But the debacle that took place at the stadium on May 30, and which is dominating media space right now, will only erode whatever is left of the PZ brand.

India is not terribly kind to strong -willed, outspoken women who are dubbed 'trouble makers' if they dare to raise their voices, especially against men. Zinta is such a woman. In the past, she has bravely stood up to pressure tactics by being the only witness to stand by earlier statements against the Indian Mafia in the notorious Bharat Shah case of 2003.

Today, she's at the centre of another ugly controversy and is being hauled over the coals across social media platforms. Why not let the cops get on with their job? It must be noted that Zinta has not accused anybody of molestation -sexual or otherwise. Her lawyer has sensibly relied on a Supreme Court verdict which specifies that the real test is whether an action "shocks the sense of decency of a woman."

If Zinta was indeed called an "f#$% whore", a "f#$% bitch" in the presence of several people inside a stadium, as she claims, and reminded of the fact that she is just a 'bloody actress', one would think it definitely qualifies as a fit case that must have shocked her sense of decency - as it would, any woman's. And since Zinta's 'class' was also allegedly questioned in the exchange, it is appropriate to point out that generally it is the abuser who displays his / her true class....not the victim!

Post by James on

I was under the impression they started the business together when they were still a couple? I understand why someone would be reticent to get rid of a profitable business because they were no longer romantically involved with their business partner.

Anyway, there's a bit more news here:

CCTV cams did not record alleged abuse

None of the five cameras installed in Wankhede Stadium's Garware pavilion have captured the arguments between Preity Zinta and industrialist Ness Wadia, who the actor alleges abused and threatened her, the police said on Wednesday after reviewing the footage. Zinta has accused Wadia, her former boyfriend, of abusing and manhandling her in the pavilion twice during an IPL match on May 30. He abused her for the third time on the ground after the match, she claims.

Wadia has denied all the charges. The two are co-owners of IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab. The Marine Drive police on Wednesday completed examining the footage of the five cameras in the Garware pavilion, but in vain.

"The cameras have not recorded the incidents that Zinta has alleged in her complaint. She has said that she was abused twice by Wadia — once below the AC box, where he also manhandled her, and the second time near the railing in the open area," a senior police officer said.

"The cameras keep rotating and it is possible that they were facing the other way when Wadia and Zinta got into an argument." There are a total 122 CCTV cameras inside the stadium. "We want to review the footage recorded by a private television channel, but its executives have not replied whether they will share it," the officer said.The Marine Drive police, meanwhile, have started contacting the 12 people named as witnesses by Zinta in her supplementary statement recorded, which was at the stadium on Tuesday. A police officer said that though they record statements of all the 12 people, they were hopeful of getting leads from five of the witnesses. One of the key witnesses is US national Gene Goodenough, who was seated in the Garware pavilion's front row along with Zinta and apparently saw Wadia abusing and threatening her the second time. Goodenough had apparently intervened and asked Wadia to "shut up". According to the police, the American raised his hand and warned Wadia that if he did not stop screaming at Zinta and leave, he would hit him.

I saw bruises on Preity Zinta’s arm, alleges key witness

Actress Preity Zinta, who has accused her former boyfriend Ness Wadia of abusing and threatening her, has apparently shown her bruises to her neighbour.

An Indian Express report says that a neighbour of the actress has told police that she showed him bruises on her arm on May 31, a day after she was allegedly molested and abused by Ness Wadia.

Quoting the actress' neighbour Danish Merchant, who is a builder by profession, the report adds that he went to meet her the next day. She showed a bruise on her elbow that she got when Ness grabbed and pulled her. She also reportedly asked him if this is how you treat a girl?

Police sources have revealed that Mr Merchant is one of the four key witnesses of the incident that happened on May 30 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, during an IPL match. He has already given a statement to the police and said that he was seated at the Garware Pavilion where the incident occurred. He has told police that he saw American national Jean intervene when Ness grabbed Preity's arm and heard Jean tell Ness to back off and stay away from her.

Post by jabimetbollywood on

I don't want to make light of this at all, but I couldn't help thinking that if this were a Bollywood movie instead of real life, this American key witness who stuck up for Preity would certainly turn out to be the love of her life and we'd eventually have a big happy ending with a wedding scene after they had worked together to get justice.

In the meantime, Preity posted about the issue on facebook again. She sounds pretty frustrated, and I don't blame her.

"For the Record...

Sometimes in life one is faced with a situation that blows up in your face irrespective of which path you take. The last few days have felt like an emotional and moral roller coaster for me. What surprises me most are some of the reactions that i have seen or heard from people, friends and the media regarding this situation. Sadly in India the fairer sex has to have a larger limit, more tolerance and worry about what people will say irrespective of the facts and the truth.

I appreciate all the people who stand by me and support me but i must confess i am genuinely surprised and shocked at some reactions from people in general. My F.I.R IS VERY CLEAR yet its INTERPRETATIONS ARE MIND BOGGLING and there is so much speculation as to Why did i do what i did ? What was the motive behind my actions etc …… therefore this is my attempt to set the record straight.

Why did i report a personal matter to the police? PERSONAL MATTER ? Seriously ? For the record this relationship was ended by me in 2009 and i don’t ever recall having gone to the police on any personal matter irrespective of what happened then. But now its been 6 years since the break up so THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL MATTER.

Is this done for MONEY ? IPL was my project from the start and for the record not only did i pay for myself (5 crores)when i got into the IPL (bid) I paid for Ness too ! 5 crores ! (Proof of my financial commitment in the IPL is with the Bcci.) To be fair to him he did pay me back a couple of months later ( without any premium) so Hope the money theory is put to end once and for all. I have never taken ANYTHING from anyone now or ever in the past as I have a lot of self respect and pride myself for being self made and not motivated by other people’s money. Instead, whenever i could help him in my capacity i did. The Go Air commercial was done completely free of cost by me and the money that i earned on the Tv show Kaun Banega Crorepati was also donated by me for the Wadia Children hospital.

If money was my motive in life then why did I decline late Mr Shandaar Amrohi’s will (he treated me like his daughter ) which was worth hundreds of crores in court and in the media ?

Is this done for PUBLICITY ? No one wants to be involved in something like this this for cheap publicity as this is more humiliating then something to be proud of, specially if you are a very private and self respecting person. I have been in this film industry since 1998 and have been part of the biggest blockbusters in the past. From Best actress awards to a bravery award i have won them all so please give me a break ! I don’t need publicity, specially cheap publicity.

My disappearance to the US - I HAD to go to the Us as I had work there which i could not ignore due to a prior commitment. In the end of the day I am a professional and cannot let my work suffer. I came back to India as soon as the police department required me to do so to help with further investigations.

Fight for SEATS - Really ? 50 seats and a V.I.P air-conditioned box (35 seater) was there , yet me and my friends sitting on 6 seats becomes an issue ? All through the IPL I have given ALMOST ALL my seats to the players families so taking over seats at all games is a completely wrong accusation and disrespecting anyone’s mother is OUT OF THE QUESTION as i might forget my name but never my manners.

Why did I file a F.I.R with the police ? Because after several warnings over the years I WAS LEFT WITH NO OTHER OPTION….. The whole point of this is that violent physical or aggressive behaviour should not be tolerated by rich or poor, man or woman, celebrity or not !

JEALOUSY ? Life moves on, people move on and so have I, and Happily so. I firmly believe and live by the principle that The Windscreen is always larger than the rear view mirror.

Underworld Don - I am as clueless and surprised about this development as anyone else is and am only a spectator like every body else.

PRIDE - Its worth fighting for irrespective of size, class and gender. One of the few things money CANNOT buy and the only thing that keeps your head over the crowd.

Standing up for yourself - If you can’t stand up for yourself don’t expect the world to stand up for you. No one knows this better than me.

WOMAN POWER - If only a mother had corrected her son, when she saw what he was becoming, and not ignore it ; If only the journalist had not said - ‘’ Why is she making a big deal of an incident that is not rape or murder; " If only the girlfriend had walked out when she saw the first sign of abuse ; If only the female voter, made a note of an insensitive politician’s attitude towards women and made sure he never got elected again ; If only other women didn’t dilute the seriousness of the offence by calling it Jealousy ; If only the reporter did not write an article to bring down any woman or her character only because she had the guts to report it and stand up for herself ………………………IF ONLY !!…………..

Police investigation is on so i would humbly request people to have a little patience and wait for all the facts to come out. This is not a frivolous or immature complaint to the police. I have never lied in the past and do not lie when it suits me or is convenient. I am a responsible citizen of this country and my only fault is that I am a woman, who reached a breaking point after constantly being abused, threatened & humiliated at work by someone who once was very dear to me.

Violence and aggression against women is wrong, yet people try to point fingers at the woman who comes out with it trying to make her sound frivolous and with ulterior motive. My only motive is to fight for my self and this fight is not against any family but an individual. If the media found out about my complaint, and it became a big deal what can i do about it ? Did I call for a press conference ? NO I did not. I actually asked people and the media to respect my privacy.

As i said earlier, My motive is not to harm anyone but only to protect my self !

I’m grateful to any man who has had the courage to stand up, for woman genuinely going through similar circumstances. You are and always will be OUR HERO !

I rest my case."