$10 billion startup co-founder claims harassment by wife amid divorce dispute

Prasanna Sankar, founder of Singapore-based crypto social network 0xPPL.com, has alleged that his wife filed false criminal complaints against him after he confronted her about an extramarital affair. Now in India, Sankar said he was cleared by police after being accused of rape, domestic violence, and distributing explicit content.

In a series of posts on social media, Sankar named his wife, Dhivya Sashidhar, and alleged that she had been in a relationship with Anoop Kuttysankaran for over six months. “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+ mos,” he posted on X.

Sankar claimed that Anoop’s wife had sent him messages and hotel booking records as evidence. After he confronted Dhivya, he alleged that she filed for divorce in the US to seek a higher financial settlement and falsely accused him of multiple criminal charges. He said the police investigated the claims and cleared him.

Custody dispute and legal settlement

Sankar further alleged that Dhivya abducted their son to the US to strengthen her divorce case. “She then proceeded to abduct my child to the US to help with her divorce case. 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 wrote.

The couple eventually agreed to share custody and settle in Chennai. Sankar said they signed a memorandum of understanding under which he would pay Dhivya Rs 9 crore and Rs 4.3 lakh per month in maintenance. In return, Dhivya was to deposit their son’s passport in a shared locker. Sankar claimed she refused to comply and instead planned to restart divorce proceedings in the US, demanding more money.

When he declined to return the child until the passport was secured, Sankar alleged that Dhivya filed a kidnapping complaint. “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 wrote.

Sankar claimed that police tracked his location and raided multiple places connected to him, including his mother’s home, a friend’s residence, and his temporary accommodation. “My cell phone location, car, UPI, IP everything is being tracked by the cops. Illegally without any FIR. They went and seized the phone of a caretaker I paid 200 Rs to via UPI and hit the Airbnb where I was staying. Luckily got out before,” he said.