Prasanna Sankar, co-founder of the $10 billion HR software startup Rippling, has come forward with serious allegations against the Chennai police. He claimed they harassed him in a false child abduction case. In a detailed thread on X (formerly Twitter), Prasanna explained how a personal issue escalated into a full-blown legal battle.

What is the case about?

The tech entrepreneur revealed that his problems started when he discovered his wife, Dhivya, was having an affair. He filed for divorce, but the situation worsened. What began as a private marital dispute turned into accusations of domestic violence, child kidnapping, and other serious charges.

“My name is Prasanna, and I 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," Prasanna wrote in his tweet.

Prasanna, an NIT Trichy graduate, mentioned that he was married to Dhivya for ten years, and they have a nine-year-old son. He shared that after moving to the US to build his tech company, he recently found out about his wife’s affair. He even stated that the man involved with his wife sent him texts and hotel booking details as proof of their relationship.

Prasanna accuses his wife of false cases

After finding out about his wife’s affair, Prasanna decided to file for divorce and started talking about how much alimony he should pay her. However, he says that his wife fought back by filing false complaints against him, accusing him of rape and domestic violence.

“Later, she made further fake complaints—that I raped her (one month after the alleged incident), that I circulated her nude videos, etc. Singapore police investigated these allegations, found them baseless, and cleared me of all charges,” he tweeted.

The fight over their son got worse when Prasanna filed for divorce in India, while Dhivya filed for divorce in the US. Prasanna also claimed that his wife took their son to the US without his permission, so he had to file an international child abduction case to get him back. Prasanna said the US court ruled in his favour, and they later signed an agreement (MoU) to settle things.

As part of this agreement, he said he agreed to pay his wife around Rs 9 crore and Rs 4.3 lakh per month while sharing joint custody of their son.

“Since she had violated laws in Singapore, she negotiated with me to instead come to Chennai, our hometown, and settle down here. We signed an MoU—I'd pay her approx. 9 crore and 4.3 lakh per month,” he explained. They also agreed to store their son’s passport in a common locker for shared custody, but Prasanna said his wife didn’t follow the agreement.

Fearing she might take their son again, Prasanna said he approached the court to ensure the passport remained secure. However, he claimed this led to further harassment.

Prasanna accuses Chennai police of harassment

Prasanna alleged that the Chennai police started harassing him and his loved ones. He mentioned that his mother was targeted, and his friend Gokul was taken into custody without a warrant from Bengaluru.

“They picked up Gokul without an FIR and kept him in custody for three days,” Prasanna claimed. He said Gokul was pressured to surrender and that the police even threatened Prasanna to delete his social media posts.

In another shocking allegation, Prasanna accused the Chennai police of trying to extort Rs 25 lakh from him in exchange for his friend’s release. He claimed his phone, bank transactions, and IP addresses were being tracked illegally.

How social media reacted

Prasanna’s detailed posts went viral, sparking massive conversations online. Many users supported him, raising concerns about police behavior and men’s rights.

A user commented, “Extremely concerning state of men in India. It doesn’t matter even if you have created billions of dollars of value.”

Another user pointed out, “Unbelievable violation of every Supreme Court guideline in this case by Thirumangalam PS Chennai Police. They picked up Prasanna’s friend without any FIR and kept him in the police station for 3 days in a child custody dispute. Please take action, sir.”

Some social media users even shared pictures of Dhivya, calling her out for allegedly misusing legal protections. One user wrote, “Dhivya Sashidhar. Wife who cheated on Prasanna and is now harassing him with a false case!”

Another person added, “If a wife is cheating and having an affair, she is not eligible for a single penny and has no right to child custody.”

The official account of the NCM India Council for Men Affairs confirmed that Prasanna’s friend was eventually released, though the Chennai police have yet to make an official statement.

Dhivya’s side of the story

Local media reports shared Dhivya’s side of the story. She claimed that Prasanna took their son away and never returned him. She also said they are both US citizens and returned to India recently.

“We returned to India, and I thought at least now my son and I could live peacefully, but he is not allowing that too,” Dhivya said.

She further accused Prasanna of being a “sex predator” and claimed he used to “secretly record women"—an "accusation that allegedly led to his arrest in Singapore before being cleared.

Dhivya also said that Prasanna moved their shared money and property to his father’s name to avoid paying taxes. She claimed he later transferred everything to his brother in Thailand. Dhivya also said that Prasanna forced her to sign papers, stopping her from reporting this to US authorities.

The case is still ongoing, with both sides making serious claims against each other. So far, the Chennai police haven’t made any public statement about Prasanna’s accusations.

This case has not only sparked legal arguments but also started a bigger discussion about false accusations, men’s rights, and how the police handle personal family disputes.

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