Mumbai, June 14 (IANS): In a fresh and detailed statement Saturday, Bollywood actress Preity Zinta said she was "abused and insulted publicly" in the past, but now she was left with "no option" but to take the "stern step" of lodging a complaint of molestation against her former beau Ness Wadia.
The 39-year-old actress, who made her Bollywood debut in 1998, filed a complaint against the Bombay Dyeing scion and her IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab co-owner Ness, Thursday night.
After issuing a statement earlier Saturday, she took to her Facebook page Real Preity Zinta to give a detailed account of the matter.
Her statement read: "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."
Preity and Ness dated for five years starting 2005, and they parted ways in 2009. They have been since working as business partners for Kings X1 Punjab.
The "Kal Ho Naa Ho" actress has accused Ness of grabbing her hand and abusing her during a cricket match in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai May 30.
Talking about it, she said: "Ironically what happened at Wankhede 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."
She further said that "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," said Preity, who made her acting debut with "Dil Se.." in 1998.
Bold and frank, the actress said: "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 (Ness) in the media but now I have no choice."
She hoped the media and her supporters will "focus on the issue and the incident that happened in Wankhede 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."
On the Bollywood front, Preity has featured in films such as "Sangharsh", "Kya Kehna", "Veer-Zaara", "Lakshya", "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" and "Heaven On Earth".
She turned film producer with "Ishkq In Paris", which she also co-wrote. The movie released in 2013 but didn't fare well at the box office.