Delhi Police have arrested Wherehouse co-founder, Vaibhav Chawla, at around 1 am on Tuesday, December 2, following a criminal complaint lodged by a client, Moneycontrol reported. His arrest came just a day after Chawla announced on LinkedIn that he is shutting down his Delhi-based warehousing startup.
‘We’ve lost the battle’: Wherehouse co-founder
In a long post on LinkedIn, he expressed that the company had “lost the battle” and continuing the fight was “not worth it anymore”. “Shutting down Wherehouse,” Chawla wrote on LinkedIn.
He recounted the founding vision behind the startup. “We started Wherehouse in 2021, with a hypothesis that the brands will come closer to the customers. This was pre-Quick Commerce. The hypothesis stands true. The model evolved, and we pushed through every obstacle, capital constraints, operational chaos, and the brutal realities of building consumer infra.”
‘Frivolous complaint’ by the client
According to his LinkedIn post, a “frivolous complaint” by the client, Curio Lifestyle, escalated to the point where employees were detained, and their families had to visit the police station to get them released.
“A frivolous complaint, and the line was crossed. In the last few days, the team of Wherehouse was detained without any documents, only to be released after families showed up at the police station,” his LinkedIn post further mentioned.
Addressing the ongoing crisis, he added, “But the last few months have been brutally hard. The only thought that kept us running was taking care of people who built along with us.”
He said there is no purpose in continuing a business if the safety of its employees cannot be ensured.
“While we have written to anyone and everyone we could think of for help, we have lost the battle here. It’s not worth fighting for. In due course of months, we would proceed with the transition of brands and teams and prepare for what comes next.”
Chawla also reflected on the effort behind the startup, acknowledging mistakes but highlighting that Wherehouse had built real infrastructure, generated impact, and even turned a profit last year. “We stayed honest, and we kept showing up every single day,” he added, before acknowledging that the employees gave a part of their lives to the company.
Wherehouse shuts down: All about the dispute
According to a report by Moneycontrol, the dispute stems from a partnership with Curio Lifestyle, which engaged Wherehouse in July 2024 to support aggressive expansion across Delhi-NCR. A contract was also signed in August that year covering monthly fees and salary reimbursement.
Wherehouse, per the report, claims that it stocked products in 75 stores – triple what was mentioned in the agreement. However, by November 2024, Curio allegedly stopped making payments, leaving fixed fees and salaries unpaid for months.
As of May 31 this year, Wherehouse says Rs 1,92,207 in dues remained pending, while Rs 46 lakh worth of stock was acknowledged by the brand.
On June 1, Curio reportedly reversed its stance, alleging money was instead owed to them. Wherehouse rejected the claim, citing contract terms. The startup says they formally terminated the agreement on June 16 on grounds of “abusive and threatening behaviour”.
Wherehouse, the outlet further reported, maintains that instead of clearing Rs 1,28,000 in pending payments, the client filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing.
Last month, officers from Nangloi Extension Police Station began calling Chawla without providing him with copies of the complaint. Between November 17-28, officers allegedly visited Wherehouse premises multiple times, disrupting operations and demanding Chawla appear without legal counsel, Moneycontrol reported.