Bribery Charges By Rippling Co-Founder Prasanna Sankar Were Fabricated To Garner Public Sympathy: Chennai Police Report

There is an update in the Prasanna Sankar V Dhivya Sashidhar ongoing matrimonial case.

Prasanna and Dhivya are amidst an ongoing divorce and child custody battle. While the family has been residing in the US for more than a decade and now in Singapore, with both Dhivya and her son being US citizens, the cases are being fought in India by Prasanna.

Both spouses have levelled multiple allegations against each other…the husband has accused his wife of adultery and false cases, while the wife has accused him of child kidnapping, going out for paid sex and tax fraud.

In March this year, Prasanna in his series of viral tweets, had also accused Chennai police of demanding Rs 25 lakh bribe from him to release his friend Gokul, who, as per Dhivya’s complaint, was allegedly absconding with the couple’s son.

Now, in their official statement dated 25th April 2025, the Chennai police has termed all allegations by Prasanna as false. Their public notification reads as follows:

Prasanna and Divya, a married couple residing in the United States, have a nine-year-old son. Due to a misunderstanding between them, they are currently living separately and co-parenting their son in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 12.02.2025.

The family came to India, and on 03.03.2025, Prasanna took custody of his son from Divya through Gokul Krishnan. However, Prasanna failed to return the child to the mother by 05.03.2025, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As a result, on 10.03. 2025, Divya filed a formal complaint at V5 Thirumangalam Police Station seeking the return of her son.

The police promptly initiated an inquiry into the matter. Fearing potential police action, on 22.03.2025, Prasanna posted a statement on social media alleging police misconduct in the form of bribery.

The statement read, “The Thirumangalam, Chennai police station is harassing me for money, knowing that I am a successful founder. The AC and SI have demanded 25 lakh rupees to release my friend, who is currently in custody. Please RT for support.”

This statement was widely shared by Prasanna’s supporters, who circulated it without verifying the facts of the case. Following Prasanna’s allegations against the police, the inquiry related to the ongoing litigation between the parents was transferred to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Against Women & Children (CAWC), Thousand Lights, Chennai. The enquiry is in progress and the parents are to seek remedy for this issue through the court concerned.

Regarding the allegations made by Prasanna against the police personnel, a separate inquiry was ordered to be conducted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anna Nagar. During the inquiry, Prasanna claimed that his advocate had informed him it would cost Rs. 25 lakhs to secure the release of his staff Gokul Krishnan. However, K. Prem Anand, Prasanna’s advocate, denied these allegations, asserting that he neither arranged nor provided any money to the police authorities. To support his defence, he submitted screenshots of WhatsApp conversations in which he had cautioned Prasanna. Furthermore, Gokul Krishnan also stated that none of the police officers involved had demanded money from him, either directly or indirectly.

As a result, the inquiry concluded that Prasanna’s accusations against the police personnel were baseless and devoid of merit. It was revealed that the claims made by Prasanna were fabricated and deliberately intended to garner public sympathy while exerting undue pressure on Police. The act of making, publishing, or circulating false statements, misinformation, or rumours—including through electronic means—with the intent or likelihood of causing unrest, reputational harm, or public misperception, is a punishable offense under the law.

Therefore, the public is urged to refrain from circulating false statements, misinformation, or rumours, and to avoid spreading unverified information on social media. Individuals found guilty of such actions will be subjected to legal consequences as per the relevant provisions of the law.

Public Advisory

🚔Prasanna and Divya, a married couple residing in the United States, have a nine-year-old son. Due to a misunderstanding between them, they are currently living separately and co-parenting their son in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated… pic.twitter.com/Zyv0m3zik6

— GREATER CHENNAI POLICE -GCP (@chennaipolice_) April 25, 2025

Responding to Chennai Police on X, Prasanna has once again shared his stance, which read as follows:

Corruption Investigation was done by the same DC who authorized the raids on me. The accused AC reports to the DC. Would a common man, make-up stuff and make police his enemy? Both Gokul and Sachi, have been asked by Prem Anand for money, saying it’s going to the cops, which they can corroborate. An inspector even told Gokul directly, after my tweet: “Forget 25L, even if you pay 1Cr, we are not letting you go”;

I’ll be writing to the commissioner and requesting either a fair investigation or at-least leave me alone to live my life. Else I’ll have to goto courts for a transfer of investigation to CBI.

Corruption Investigation was done by the same DC who authorized the raids on me. The accused AC reports to the DC. Would a common man, make-up stuff and make police his enemy? Both Gokul and Sachi, have been asked by Prem Anand for money, saying it’s going to the cops, which they… https://t.co/VQuuD68VzL

— Prasanna S (@myprasanna) April 25, 2025

Currently the minor son is in the custody of the father, and the Supreme Court of India has sent the parties for mediation. Since the matter is subjudice, we are only putting out what is being reported publicly.

You can watch both sides’ allegations in two separate videos below:

ALLEGATIONS BY PRASANNA SANKAR:

ALLEGATIONS BY DHIVYA SASHIDHAR:

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