PBKS batter Shashank alleges extortion plot in assault charges, terms FIR ‘tool of harassment’.

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) 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.

Last month, 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.

“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.

He continued, “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 revealed that the entire incident was a trap orchestrating pressure on him for monetary gains.

“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.”

Expressing his shock over the swiftness of legal action against his family, the cricketer questioned how easily a complaint was registered without verifying the facts.

“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.

He also rubbished circulating media reports connecting him to a similar alleged incident on April 30, 2026. He pointed out that a basic fact-check would have debunked the rumours, as he was actively playing in the IPL on that exact date.

“This reminded me how easily reputations can be damaged when rumours are treated as facts and verification is sacrificed for headlines,” the cricketer noted.

The middle-order batter, whose father served as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for 39 years, expressed relief that he was home with his parents on the day of the incident, stating they escaped what could have been a much more dangerous scenario involving a “known criminal.”

Shashank further urged people to remain vigilant and run proper background checks when hiring staff. “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 concluded.

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.

–IANS

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