Shashank Singh, Punjab Kings all-rounder, has rejected all the allegations levied on him and his family by their domestic cook. Instead, Shashank accused the cook of recording videos of the rooms and house and was fired from the job for doing so without permission.
An FIR had been registered at Ratibad Police Station in Bhopal against Shashank Singh and his IPS officer father, Shailesh Singh, for assaulting, verbally abusing, and confining their former cook, Vipendra Singh Tomar, against his will.
The police claim that Tomar was hired on June 25 for a promised monthly salary of Rs 15,000, along with free food, lodging, and ambiguous promises of help in obtaining a future government position.
However, the complaint claimed that within a few days of beginning, the home atmosphere became quite antagonistic, with disagreements routinely breaking out over the caliber of the food he cooked.
“I agreed to work there and stayed at the residence after being assured of salary, food, and lodging. On June 28, after preparing breakfast, I asked Shailesh Singh to return my mobile phone, but he refused. Upset over this, I went to my room. Shailesh Singh, his son Shashank Singh, and their driver entered my room, abused me, and started assaulting me with their hands and fists. After beating me, they forced me out of the house. After the incident, I came to the police station with my relatives to lodge a complaint and seek legal action,” Tomar said in his statement, as per IANS.
However, Shashank Singh has denied all the allegations and even questioned the timeline presented in the complaint.
“Nothing like that happened. A person who comes on the evening of the 25th and leaves on the morning of the 28th—how can you call that keeping someone hostage?” Shashank told PTI.
Additionally, Shashank stated that the cook had lied about his experience and later acknowledged that he was unable to create the variety of foods he had first claimed.
“The man came to us saying, ‘I know how to cook. I can prepare all kinds of food.’ But then he himself admitted that he actually didn’t know how to cook properly. So how can you trust a person like that?” he said.
Shashank made more accusations against the complainant, saying the worker had taken videos in the family's private areas.
“He came into the house and started recording videos of bedrooms. He even entered the bedroom, where expensive and luxury items were kept, recorded videos there, and sent them to other people,” Shashank alleged.
The cricketer further stated that he had minimal interaction with the cook, limited to discussing his experience of cooking. Shashank claims that the cook had been recommended by one of his father's acquaintances and had asked for payment in advance as soon as he arrived.
“He had come through one of my father’s friends, who recommended him, saying that he knew how to cook all these dishes. That’s why he was brought to the house, but as soon as he arrived, he demanded an advance payment of Rs 20,000,” Shashank added.
Shashank claimed his family had asked the cook to work for a few days before discussing compensation and deciding whether to continue the arrangement.
