Punjab Kings cricketer Shashank Singh on Sunday addressed the controversy surrounding a police case filed against him and his family, alleging that a “false FIR” was used as a means of extortion to damage his reputation as a public figure.
The case stems from an incident last month, when Ratibad police in Bhopal registered an FIR against Shashank and his father, retired Special Director General (DG) of Police Shailesh Singh, following a complaint by a cook employed at their residence. The complainant accused the two of assault, verbal abuse and forcibly taking away his mobile phone.
In a detailed post on social media, Shashank denied the allegations and described the episode as a life-changing experience.
“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. 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.
The Punjab Kings batter also questioned the circumstances surrounding the complaint, saying the cook had left his residence without any visible injuries.
“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 (or accomplices, now that I look back).
“Later, police records showed that he already had 9 FIRs registered against him and had been charge-sheeted in 8 cases for offences including attempt to murder, house theft (which we later discovered he had also committed at our home), assault, house-trespass, extortion by causing hurt, criminal intimidation, obscene acts, offences under SC/ST Act, and other crimes. He was using three different names to hide his identity.”
Shashank alleged that the incident was part of a planned attempt to pressure him into paying money.
“As more facts came to light, I came to believe that he had never entered our home with honest intentions,” Singh stated. “I believe 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.”
The 33-year-old also questioned the manner in which the FIR was registered, saying he and his family were not given an opportunity to present their side before legal action was initiated.
“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,” he added.
Shashank also dismissed media reports linking him to another alleged incident dated April 30, 2026, saying the claims did not stand up to basic fact-checking as he was playing in the IPL on that day.
“This reminded me how easily reputations can be damaged when rumours are treated as facts and verification is sacrificed for headlines,” the cricketer noted.
Reflecting on the episode, Shashank, whose father served in the Indian Police Service (IPS) for 39 years, said he was relieved to have been at home with his parents during the incident. He claimed the family had narrowly avoided what could have been a far more dangerous situation involving what he described as a “known criminal.”
He also urged people to exercise caution while hiring domestic staff and ensure proper background verification.
“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,” Singh wrote.
“The thought that a known criminal, unknown to us then, came so close to the safe confines of our home still sends a chill down my spine. Just because someone appears to be helpless, is crying, or seeks sympathy does not mean they are telling the truth. Truth may take time, but it always prevails,” he concluded.
With IANS Inputs
