In a twist stranger than fiction, Prasanna Sankar, the co-founder of the $10 billion tech giant Rippling, now finds himself on the run, not from competitors or regulators but from the Tamil Nadu police. The reason is a highly publicized and deeply personal domestic dispute that erupted into a full-blown legal and media war.
Once hailed as India’s top coder and an NIT Trichy alumnus who went on to achieve massive success in Silicon Valley, Prasanna’s life took a swift and dramatic turn. On March 23, he shared that he is fleeing Tamil Nadu while hiding with his 9-year-old son amid allegations ranging from assault to rape, claims he vehemently denies and calls fabricated.
The dispute stems from his ongoing divorce with his wife, Dhivya, whom he accused of having an 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,” Sankar posted on X, formerly Twitter. Following this shocking revelation, Sankar also alleged that Dhivya sought a large divorce settlement and retaliated by filing false allegations against him.
Sankar claims that Anoop's wife provided him with evidence, including screenshots of messages and hotel bookings connecting Dhivya and Anoop. These messages were said to detail the affair, prompting Prasanna to confront his wife. This confrontation, according to him, resulted in Dhivya filing complaints alleging domestic violence, rape, and the circulation of explicit content.
However, he firmly stands by his claims that he has been cleared of these accusations following police investigations in Singapore, which ruled the allegations against him as baseless. “Singapore police have investigated these allegations, found them baseless, and cleared me from all charges,” he stated.
In a dramatic turn of events, the situation escalated when Dhivya allegedly abducted their son to the United States. Prasanna claimed he took immediate legal action, filing an international child abduction case in the US, which he won when a judge ruled in his favor. “I filed an international child abduction case in the US. And the judge ruled in favor of me and asked to return the child,” he recounted.
Following this ruling, the couple reached an understanding to share custody of their son, with Sankar agreeing to pay approximately 9 crore rupees and 4.3 lakh rupees in alimony and maintenance. However, tensions continued to escalate, with Sankar alleging that Dhivya refused to comply with the agreed terms.
“She was required to deposit our child’s passport in a common locker but allegedly refused,” he claimed, leading to further complications, including Dhivya filing a kidnapping complaint against him when he resisted returning their son until the passport situation was resolved. “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.
Sankar emphasized that he is now pursuing legal recourse to prevent harassment after facing what he describes as persecution from both Dhivya and law enforcement. “On Monday, I will be filing a 'don't harass' petition in court and taking matters through the court system,” he announced on the social media platform.
He further detailed how the police's aggressive approach has impacted his family, stating, “The police and my wife will be conducting a joint press meet soon to accuse me of many crimes. They've also asked my friend Gokul to sign saying my social media tweets are false.”
Despite the gravity of the legal battles he faces, Sankar remains defiant. “I built an empire from nothing. I can handle this even if a state is on the other side. I’m a survivor, not a victim,” he asserted, underscoring his refusal to back down.
Meanwhile, interest in Prasanna and his company has surged, especially on social media, where queries regarding Rippling, and his allegations peaked shortly after his posts became public. Google Trends showed a significant spike in search interest for terms related to Rippling and Sankar’s personal life.
Prasanna Sankar, who has a notable professional background including roles at Google and Microsoft, elaborated on his rich history in the tech industry. “I used to do a lot of programming contests: I was ranked #1 in India at TopCoder while at college. I was a 2x Google Code Jam world finalist and a 2x ACM ICPC world finalist,” he shared.
Additionally, the entrepreneur has recently launched a new project, https://amardao.xyz/, created to invest in human development. He remarked that it was particularly special as it was launched in February 2025, coinciding with his son's recent birthday.
The tumultuous events surrounding Prasanna Sankar serve as a stark reminder of the complexities involved in personal relationships and their effects on professional lives. As legal proceedings loom, many are left wondering how this high-profile case will unfold in the coming weeks.
