Preity Zinta grilled over statement to police

Mumbai, Apr 30 (UNI) Bollywood actress Preity Zinta today told the court she had received a call from a person describing himself as Shah Rukh Khan but had not informed the police during the recording of her statement.

Deposing before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate J B Panke, Zinta was grilled over the statement recorded with the police in a defamation case filed by her against city-based tabloid 'Mid-day' for publishing a defamatory article on July 15.

During cross-examination by defence advocate Abbad Ponda, she said ''During the recording of my statement, I had not told the police that I had received a call on my mobile from a person describing himself as Shah Rukh Khan and I do not remember if I had received nasty phone calls on my mobile between July 15 and August 3, 2005.'' Moreover, she said she was out of the country on July 15, the day when the tabloid had published the article, and had returned on July 26.

''After coming to India, I felt sick and that is why I do not remember whether I received any cheap calls or no,'' she added.

Mid-Day had published a transcript of the so-called 'Salman Khan' tape on July 15, that mentioned Preity Zinta in a derogatory manner.

UNI