‘Tool of extortion’: PBKS star Shashank Singh opens up weeks after FIR was lodged against him for alleged physical assault on cook originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Shashank Singh calls the FIR against him and his father a false extortion attempt.
- He claims cook had multiple prior FIRs and used fake identities.
- Cricketer urges caution when hiring domestic help without proper verification.
‘It was extortion, not a complaint’: Shashank Singh breaks silence on FIR row
Punjab Kings batter Shashank Singh finally spoke out on Sunday about the legal case filed against him and his family, describing the entire episode as a fabricated attempt to extort money by exploiting his public profile as a cricketer.
The case traces back to an incident last month, when police in Bhopal’s Ratibad area registered a complaint against Shashank and his father, retired senior police officer Shailesh Singh, following allegations made by a cook who had worked at their home.
According to the complaint, the man alleged he’d been beaten up, hurled abuses at, and had his phone snatched from him by force.
Shashank didn’t hold back on social media, flatly denying all of it and saying the whole ordeal had left a lasting mark on him and his family.
He’s dealt with online criticism and trolling for years as a sportsman and learned to shrug it off, but this hit differently as he was being branded as someone who beat up a man from a less privileged background, with thousands piling on before anyone actually knew what had happened.
“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.
MORE: FIR lodged against Shashank Singh for alleged physical assault on cook: PBKS star denies charges
Shashank questions the injuries & the cook’s background
Shashank also questioned the timeline of injuries as the man had walked out of their house looking completely fine, yet somehow turned up in a video later showing clear signs of being hurt. It is something the family says they still can’t fully explain.
He added: “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).”
According to Shashank, police records later revealed the man had nine prior FIRs against him and had been charge-sheeted in eight cases.
“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 went further, claiming the man never had honest intentions to begin with, and that the whole thing looked like a setup designed to squeeze money out of him, with the FIR used more as a bargaining chip than a real complaint.
“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.
“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.”
I’ve carried this with me for a while. Today, I’m choosing to share my perspective. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read it. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/BpbUvZFyoR
— shashank singh (@shashank2191) July 12, 2026
MORE: Is India really a team full of flat-track bullies?
Shashank has learnt a lesson in caution
Looking back on everything, Shashank, whose father put in nearly four decades with the Indian Police Service, said he was grateful his parents happened to be home that day, adding that things could have gone a lot worse otherwise.
“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.”
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