Tech Entrepreneur Caught In Custody Battle Accuses Chennai Police Of Harassment

Prasanna Sankar, co-founder of Rippling, faces child kidnapping charges in Chennai. He claims it's a false accusation stemming from a heated divorce dispute with his wife, Divya.

Rippling Co-Founder Prasanna Sankar

Source : Twitter - myprasanna

Prasanna Sankar, a tech-entrepreneur from Chennai and co-founder of the billion-dollar company Rippling, has claimed that he is evading the Chennai police after being wrongfully accused in a case involving the kidnapping of a child.

In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), he described how his problems worsened after he found out about his wife's adultery and filed for divorce.  What started out as a marital argument quickly descended into false charges, child abduction, and domestic assault accusations.

He wrote, "My name is Prasanna, who previously founded Rippling (worth $10B); I'm going through a divorce. I'm now on the run from the Chennai police hiding outside of Tamil Nadu. This is my story."

My name is Prasanna, who previously founded Rippling (worth $10B); I'm going through a divorce. I'm now on the run from the Chennai police hiding outside of Tamil Nadu. This is my story.

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) March 23, 2025

An NIT Trichy alumnus, Prasanna Sarkar revealed that he and his wife, Divya, have a son who is nine years old and had been married for 10 years. He discovered of his wife's adultery after relocating to the US to launch his own software business.  He said that as proof of their relationship, the man she was seeing texted him and showed him pictures of Divya's hotel reservations.

Born in Chennai, lived here for 20 years. I studied in NIT Trichy where I met my wife. I was ranked as #1 coder in India. I went to the US to start technology companies.

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) March 23, 2025

After knowing the truth, Prasanna made the decision to get a divorce and started negotiating the terms of alimony.  But he said that after that, his wife falsely reported him to the police for domestic abuse.

He posted, "Later, she made further fake complaints that I raped her (1 mo after the alleged rape). That i circulated her nude videos. etc. Singapore police have investigated these allegations, found them baseless and have cleared me from all charges."

Later, she made further fake complaints that I raped her (1 mo after the alleged rape). That i circulated her nude videos. etc. Singapore police have investigated these allegations, found them baseless and have cleared me from all charges.

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) March 23, 2025

Things became more complicated, after Prasanna filed for divorce in India and his wife filed in the US to obtain custody of their child.  As a result, he filed a case for international child abduction case.

She negotiated with him to move to Chennai, their hometown, and settle permanently there. Prasanna went on to say, "We signed an MOU – I'd pay her about 9 Crore and 4.3 Lakh/month." They also agreed to share custody of their son and keep his passport in a shared locker, but she didn't follow through on this.

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.

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) March 23, 2025

Prasanna reached out ot the court to make sure his son's passport was safeguarded because he was worried he may lose custody.  The police, according to him, harassed his mother, harassed his friend Gokul, and picked him up from Bengaluru without a warrant.

Do I know any media people? 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. @CMOTamilnadu @PMOIndia

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) March 22, 2025

Prasanna even claimed that he was threatened by the police to remove the remarks from social media. He has announced that he will be filing a petition in court on Monday to prevent the police from harassing him.

What Divya Said?

However, Prasanna's estranged wife, Divya, accused him of wrongdoing and rejected his assertions.  She said that three weeks prior, Prasanna had took her to India under the pretext of settling a property dispute, and that Gokula Krishnan had stolen her kid by force. "I complained to the police since I had no idea what had happened to my son."

In order to avoid paying taxes, she further claimed that Sankar had moved their marital assets into his father's name.

Sankar's father gave these assets to his brother in Thailand, according to Divya. "I don't know what happened to the assets that his father transferred to his brother Vidyasagar in Thailand, avoiding taxes in India," Divya added.

Divya also said that Sankar had stolen their son's passport and that she was afraid he may kidnap the child.  She said that the Chennai Police were attempting to assist her in regaining custody of her son.