Shashank Singh alleges false FIR used as extortion tool, denies assault allegations

Punjab Kings cricketer Shashank Singh on Sunday opened up about a recent controversy involving his family, alleging that a "false FIR" was used as a tool for extortion to tarnish his reputation as a public figure. Shashank and his father, retired Special Director General (DG) of Police Shailesh Singh, were booked by the Ratibad police in Bhopal after a cook employed at their residence accused them of assault, abuse and forcibly taking away his mobile phone. In a lengthy social media post, the batter clarified his stance on the allegations, which claimed he had assaulted an underprivileged individual.

Cook Vipendra Singh Tomar lodged a complaint at the Ratibad Police Station in Bhopal on Monday, June 29, after he had started working for them on June 25. The Ratibad Police registered an FIR based on the complaint and filed a case under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 296(B) for obscene acts and public verbal abuse, Section 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt or assault, and Section 3(5) for joint criminal liability.

"This incident changed me forever and taught me lessons I will carry for life. I am not writing this for sympathy. I am writing it because this was the first time my family and I experienced something like this, and I hope others learn from it," Singh wrote on social media.

Shashank Singh on public abuse and trolling following allegations

The Punjab Kings batter went on to describe how the allegations affected him publicly. "As an athlete, I have faced criticism, trolling and abuse for years. I have learnt to live with it. But this was different. Overnight, I was portrayed as someone who had beaten up a person less privileged than I am. Thousands abused me without knowing the truth," he wrote. 

"We were shocked when we later saw him in the video, because he had left our home completely fine. It took us time to process how someone could end up so badly beaten. He came to our home at his own insistence, but we sent him back on the third day after finding him wandering through the house, taking photos inside it, and forwarding them to his friends," he added.

According to Singh, police records later showed that the cook had already had 9 FIRs registered against him and had been charge-sheeted in 8 cases for offences including attempt to murder, house theft, assault and house trespass. He was using three different names to hide his identity. 

Singh alleged that the cook never entered his home with honest intentions and believed "the plan was to create pressure on me by filing a false FIR, expecting that I would pay money to protect my reputation as a public figure. In my view, the FIR was used as a tool of extortion rather than a genuine complaint."

Expressing shock over the ease with which an FIR was registered against his family, Singh said,

"What disturbed me even more was that, where genuine victims often struggle to get an FIR registered even for heinous crimes, one was registered against me and my family without hearing our side or questioning us."

The cricketer urged people to be vigilant when hiring domestic help, stating,

"This experience taught me some hard lessons. Never let sympathy replace common sense. Always hire domestic help only through a registered agency after proper police verification."