Prasanna Sankar, an Indian-origin entrepreneur and the co-founder of Rippling, is currently involved in a contentious and public custody battle with his estranged wife, Dhivya Shashidar. The dispute has escalated with serious allegations from both sides, particularly Dhivya has accused Sankar of grave sexual offenses, kidnapping their 9-year-old son, and other illicit activities. The accusations have sparked a social media frenzy, with both parties publicly airing their grievances, further complicating the already acrimonious custody battle.
Sankar’s professional achievements have been marred by his personal life, with his wife making serious charges. According to Sankar, Dhivya has falsely accused him of rape, domestic violence, and kidnapping. He says that his wife used her contacts in the police to harass him. Sankar has also accused her of kidnapping their 9-year-old son, further fueling the legal and emotional battle between them. He has also accused her estranged wife of engaging in extra marital affair.
Sankar summarized his whole life in a tweet, where he said that he married Dhivya 10 years ago but lately he discovered that she had been cheating on him with a man named Anoop. He demanded divorce to which they negotiated on the terms of how many million dollars does he need to pay her, as a part of their divorce settlement. He further said that she was unhappy and decided to instead lodged a fake police complaint against him saying that he used to hit her. In the post he said that Singapore police have investigated these allegations, found them baseless and have cleared him from all charges.
He added, “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.”
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
Contrarily, Dhivya Shashidar, an American citizen, has made startling allegations against her husband, even labeling him as a “sexual pervert”. She claims in a viral video that Prasanna Sankar recorded sexual abuses on women via hidden cameras and had previously been arrested in San Francisco for solicitation of prostitution. She also claims that she was forced to move to Singapore after Sankar hid these allegations from her. Dhivya further asserts that she has been a victim of similar abuse. Sankar was allegedly arrested by Singapore police and later released on conditional bail.
Dhivya has also accused Sankar of abducting their son with the help of his personal assistant, a man named Gokulakrishnan. She claims that Gokulakrishnan forcibly took their son away from her, which led her to seek help from the Chennai police. In the video, Dhivya reveals that she is struggling to find out her son’s whereabouts and has requested the police to intervene. She has also sought assistance from the U.S. Embassy, fearing for her son’s safety and well-being.
In addition to these serious allegations, Dhivya claims that Sankar engaged in tax evasion and illicit property transfers. She says that Sankar forced her to relocate to Singapore and concealed his criminal history from her. As per Dhivya, Sankar had transferred their properties to his father in India unlawfully, who further transferred them to his brother based in Thailand, avoiding billions of dollars in taxes. She even accused Sankar of forcing her to sign an undertaking not to report these deals to U.S. regulators.
Dhivya also accuses her husband of threatening her son and herself, respectively, in respect to a property dispute and rewarding her with financial inducements to dissuade her from initiating legal proceedings.
Dhivya also recounts her father-in-law’s so-called history of sexual transgressions, indicating that he illtreated her mother-in-law and drove her from their home. She associates her father-in-law’s act with that of her husband’s, stating that “children grow up in a similar way as their parents.”
She requested the Chennai police to intervene on her behalf, asking for her son’s return safely and the delivery of justice in the event of what she calls continued harassment and abuse.
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Though both sides have made their allegations public, the case is still pending, with their court case still ongoing. As the case drags on, the authorities are trying to settle the case, but the personal and legal issues of the couple have tarnished Prasanna Sankar’s otherwise illustrious career in technology.
Sankar’s professional career
Sankar, who was born and raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is well known in the tech industry for co-founding Rippling, a workforce management software company valued at around $10 billion. Sankar’s academic qualification is a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy), where he also met his wife, Divya Shashidar. He gained experience working through internships and positions in leading tech companies such as Google and Microsoft Canada prior to creating Rippling. Sankar is also the creator of 0xPPL, a decentralized social network for crypto communities, which he created in 2023.
