Prasanna Sankar, co-founder of Rippling, took to social media claiming that his wife cheated on him with a married man. She has also made false accusations of rape and child abduction against him while they are divorcing.
Prasanna is now in India to file for divorce, sharing the information on Sunday, claiming that he and his kid are on the run because the Chennai Police have been attempting to apprehend him after his wife's accusations.
Divorce Proceedings
Sankar and Dhivya were married for 10 years before their marriage broke down. According to Sankar, the primary reason for their separation was Dhivya’s alleged extramarital affair.
“Me and my wife, Dhivya, were married for 10 years, and we have a 9-year-old son. Recently our marriage broke down after I discovered she was having an affair, with a person named Anoop for 6+ months,” shared the Rippling co-founder.
Following this revelation, Sankar decided to end the marriage and sought custody arrangements for their son. However, what began as a standard divorce process quickly escalated into a legal nightmare when Dhivya allegedly took extreme steps to prevent him from being involved in their son’s life.
He added that “Later, she made further fake complaints that I raped her (1 mo after the alleged rape). That I circulated her nude videos. Etc.” The Singapore police investigated these allegations only to find them baseless and have cleared him of all charges.
He filed for a divorce in India, but his wife filed for a divorce in the US just to try and make more money from the divorce, according to Prasanna.
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Custody Battle
Prasanna also accused Dhivya of trying to kidnap their son and take him to the US.
Prasanna shared that “She then proceeded to abduct my child to the US to help with her divorce case. I filed an international child abduction case in the US. And the judge ruled in favour of me and asked her to return the child.”
After some time, the couple reached an agreement and decided to live in Chennai and share custody of their son. In accordance with the MOU they signed, Prasanna agreed to pay her maintenance of Rs 4.3 lakh per month and an alimony of Rs 9 crore.
"As a part of the MOU, she had to deposit the child's passport in a common locker since I was worried she could fly away. She refused to follow it. She started claiming that the MOU is not valid and she wants more and will go to the US again to file a divorce," he said.
He then filed a second lawsuit, claiming that he would not give the child back until the passport had been placed in the locker. Dhivya allegedly responded by showing up at Prasanna's hotel at 10 p.m. and attempting to meet their kid in the lobby, but Prasanna forbade it.
"She then chose to call the police and filed a kidnapping complaint against me. The police knocked on the door in the middle of the night, before which I was able to escape with my son," he said, adding that his lawyers immediately reached out to the police with his side of the story.
Additionally, he attempted to convince the cops via a video call that the child was safe and happy with him. Additionally, he made an effort to convince them that the police shouldn't get involved because he and his wife were embroiled in a legal dispute.
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Tamil Nadu Police Harassment
But the police continued to look for him. They reportedly arrived at his mother's house, picked up a friend for interrogation, and even made it to Prasanna's hotel shortly after he ran away. His whole family was compelled to flee the state and go into hiding as a result of the occurrence.
"My cell phone location, car, UPI, IP, everything is being tracked by the cops. Illegally, without any FIR. They went and seized the phone of a caretaker I paid 200 Rs to via UPI and hit the Airbnb where I was staying. Luckily got out before," he said.
Prasanna said he intends to file a "don't harass" in court on Monday.
Sankar further alleges that officers from the Thirumangalam police station, including an Assistant Commissioner and a sub-inspector, have been harassing him and demanding a bribe of ₹25 lakh to resolve the situation.
He further wrote, "The Thirumangalam, Chennai, police station is harassing me for money, knowing that I'm a successful founder. The AC and the SI have asked me for 25L to release my friend who has been in custody. Please RT for support." He has tagged Tamil Nadu CM and PMO's official X handles.
Initially, the police allegedly asked for ₹2 lakh from his lawyer but later increased their demand. He claims that his friend Gokul, who was detained following Dhivya’s complaint, is being pressured to reveal Sankar’s location. Fearing further harassment, Sankar has since left Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu police have denied these allegations, stating that they are conducting a legitimate investigation based on Dhivya’s complaint. They maintain that all actions taken in the case are within legal boundaries.
As of now, the case remains under investigation. The outcome will not only impact the custody battle but also determine whether the Tamil Nadu police will face scrutiny over Sankar’s allegations of corruption and harassment.
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