Prasanna Sankar, the co-founder of the $10 billion tech firm Rippling, is caught in a bitter legal feud with his estranged wife, Dhivya Sashidhar. What began as a divorce dispute has spiralled into a high-stakes clash involving allegations of child abduction, police harassment, and even extortion.Currently in India to file for divorce, Sankar took to X on Sunday to share his side of the story. He claimed he is “on the run” with his son, alleging that the Chennai law enforcement are trying to arrest him following a complaint from his wife, who accused him of “kidnapping” their child.AdvertisementBut, who is Prasanna Sankar? What exactly is happening? And what are the accusations being made against him? Here’s everything you need to know.Who is Prasanna Sankar?Prasanna Sankar (full name Prasanna Sankaranarayanan) is an Indian entrepreneur based in Singapore, best known as the co-founder of Rippling, a workforce management software company valued at around $10 billion. Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, he has built a strong reputation in the tech industry.He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy), where he met his wife. The couple was married for 10 years and has a nine-year-old son, Amar.Before launching Rippling with American entrepreneur Parker Conrad, Sankar worked with several top tech companies. His career began with an internship at Google in 2006, followed by a role at Microsoft Canada.Prasanna Sankar (full name Prasanna Sankaranarayanan) is an Indian entrepreneur based in Singapore, best known as the co-founder of Rippling, a workforce management software company valued at around $10 billion. Image courtesy: LinkedIn“I used to do a lot of programming contests: I was ranked #1 in India at TopCoder while at college. 2x Google Code Jam world finalist. 2x ACM ICPC world finalist,” he stated on his profile.According to his LinkedIn, he also co-founded LikeALittle, a campus social network where he served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). More recently, in January 2023, he founded 0xPPL, a decentralised social network designed for the crypto community.Editor’s Picks1Who is Amit Gupta, Gujarat techie detained in Qatar since January?2Death video, harassment, & more: How Delhi café owner’s suicide bears similarities with Bengaluru techieThe techie’s allegationsIn a series of posts on X, Prasanna Sankar alleged that his wife, Dhivya Sashidhar, had been involved in an extramarital affair.“Dhivya, [we] 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+ mos,” he wrote.Sankar claimed he received proof of the affair from the spouse of the man involved, including messages and hotel booking records.AdvertisementFollowing this, he alleged that divorce negotiations took a bitter turn. “After that, we were negotiating the terms of how many million dollars I needed to pay her as a part of our divorce. She was unhappy and decided to instead file a fake police complaint against me saying I hit her,” he stated.AdvertisementAccording to Sankar, the accusations didn’t stop there. “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.”Sankar claimed that while he filed for divorce in India, Dhivya filed hers in the US in an attempt to extract “more money from the divorce.” He further alleged that she “abducted” their son to the US to strengthen her case, which led him to file an international child abduction case.A US court ruled in his favour, leading to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two. “Since she had violated laws in Singapore, she negotiated with me to instead come to Chennai, our home town, and settle down here. We signed an MOU – I’d pay her approx 9 Crores and 4.3 Lakhs/month,” Sankar wrote.AdvertisementHowever, he claimed that Dhivya later backed out of the agreement. “She now claims that the MoU is not valid and she wants more and will go to the US again to file a divorce.”When Sankar moved to court to enforce the agreement, he said his wife retaliated by accusing him of kidnapping their son. He alleged that the police arrived at his hotel late at night, forcing him to flee with his child to avoid what he called a wrongful arrest.Sankar insisted that he had provided proof that his son was safe and that the matter was being handled legally.AdvertisementDespite this, he claimed the authorities continued to pursue him, allegedly pressuring his family and friends while demanding Rs 25 lakh as extortion.He also accused the Chennai police of raiding his friend Gokul’s home in Bengaluru without a warrant and detaining him in Chennai. Additionally, he alleged that the police had been illegally tracking his movements, seizing the phone of a caretaker he had paid Rs 200 via UPI, and raiding an Airbnb where he had previously stayed.Concluding his statement, Sankar said he would be taking legal action. “On Monday, I will be filing a ‘don’t harass’ for me in courts and taking matters through the court system. Meanwhile, my entire family is out of the state, hiding from the TN cops.”‘A sex predator’: Dhivya counterclaimsAccording to local media reports, Dhivya filed a complaint accusing Sankar of “wrongdoing,” alleging that their son was forcibly taken from her by a man named Gokula Krishnan and never returned.“I didn’t know what happened to my son, and that is why I filed a complaint with the police,” she said.Dhivya, who claims both she and her son are US citizens, stated that after returning to India earlier this month, Sankar took their child away from her. “We returned to India, and I thought at least now my son and I could live peacefully, but he is not allowing that too,” she reportedly said.Beyond the custody battle, she also accused Sankar of financial misconduct, claiming that he transferred their matrimonial assets to his father’s name to evade taxes. According to Dhivya, Sankar’s father then moved these assets to his brother in Thailand. “His father transferred the assets bypassing tax in India to his brother Vidyasagar in Thailand, and I don’t know what happened to it,” she alleged.She further claimed that she was coerced into signing documents preventing her from reporting these alleged tax violations to US authorities. “They threatened and took my signature, claiming that I shouldn’t complain about this tax crime. We then returned to India and thought of living peacefully, but he is not allowing that too,” she stated.In a more serious allegation, Dhivya reportedly labelled Sankar a “sex predator,” accusing him of secretly recording women, for which she claimed he was arrested in Singapore and later released on bail.She also alleged that he was caught in a sting operation for solicitation and prostitution, which led to his removal from his company. Citing these accusations, she said she sought help from the Chennai Police.With input from agenciesMore from Explainers
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Who is Prasanna Sankar, Rippling co-founder who has accused wife of kidnapping son?
