'This was pre-planned act': Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh on cook's assault allegations
Last month, the cook accused Singh, his father and their driver of assault, and alleged that he was beaten, intimidated and prevented from leaving the residence after refusing to continue working
Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Shashank Singh on Sunday alleged that Vipendra Singh Tomar, the cook who accused him of physical assault, was a habitual offender with multiple criminal cases.
He further claimed that the incident was part of a pre-planned extortion attempt.
Singh said the worker, hired directly rather than through a registered agency, had nine FIRs registered against him since 2018, including cases of attempted murder, robbery and house trespassing, and had been convicted in four of them.
“FIR was registered on June 29, and the worker's background verification was done through the Gram Panchayat and local police. Although he had come to work for only a month and it was just his third day, it was found that he had nine FIRs registered against him since 2018. Charges included attempted murder, robbery and house trespassing, and he had already been convicted in four cases,” Singh told ANI.
Singh alleged he later received calls demanding Rs 7-7.5 lakh to withdraw the complaint, which he refused.
He also said he filed a police complaint over the theft of two silver Ganesh idols and other valuables, submitted CCTV footage and other evidence, but claimed there has been no significant progress in the investigation.
“It then became clear that this was a pre-planned act. I learnt that he was a habitual criminal who had come here with the intention of extorting money, believing that, as I am a public figure, he could easily extract a settlement. A few days later, I even received calls demanding Rs 7-7.5 lakh in exchange for withdrawing the FIR," Singh said.
“The situation could have been far more dangerous, especially as my elderly parents often stay home alone. Fortunately, I was at home, and nothing more serious happened. I lodged a complaint with the police on July 1,” he added.
Last month, Tomar, the domestic cook, accused Singh, his father Shailesh Singh and their driver of assault, and alleged that he was beaten, intimidated and prevented from leaving the family's residence after refusing to continue working.
The Ratibad Police in Bhopal registered an FIR against Shashank Singh, his father Shailesh Singh and the family's driver following Tomar's complaint alleging assault, verbal abuse and wrongful confinement.
