It has been four years since actress Preity Zinta filed a complaint against Ness Wadia - ex-boyfriend and co-owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab - and the Mumbai police has finally filed a chargesheet against the businessman.
Wadia has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (assault or criminal force against woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of woman).
The police submitted a 200-page chargesheet on February 20 in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate.
Wadia, who was present, was granted bail on the personal surety of ₹20,000.
According to the actress, the alleged assault took place at the Wankhede Stadium on May 30, 2014, during a match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings.
The complaint says that when Wadia saw Zinta seated in the Garware Pavilion, he started abusing the team staff over ticket distribution. Zinta changed her seat but Wadia abused her again on the ground in front of her team members. When she tried to move away, he grabbed her hand. Zinta submitted four photographs showing ‘bruise-like’ marks on her right arm.
In August 2014, American national Gene Goodenough, who married Zinta in 2016, emailed his statement to the police. He corroborated Zinta’s claims and said he had intervened when Wadia abused her.
The charge sheet will pave the way for a trial.
Ness Wadia had admitted to the altercation but not the abuse.
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