Kerala Tattoo Artist Arrested For Raping Female Clients
A popular Kochi-based tattoo artist was arrested by the Kerala Police on Sunday over allegations of rape, sexual assault, and molestation made by at least 6 women - all his former clients.
Sujeesh PS is a tattoo artist from Kochi, Kerala. He had a tattoo studio named “Inkfected studio”. He has been running the studio for the last 10 years and it was very successful. He is married and has a small daughter as well. An 18-year-old woman had gone to the tattoo studio and met Sujeesh. She wanted to get a tattoo in a private place on her body and since the studio was crowded she asked for a private room. As the tattooing was in progress, the artist allegedly started making advances, and when she protested, he raped her after putting a needle on her spine. She said, “I never thought the man will have the audacity to do something like this. I did not speak a word. I just felt like dying right there on the spot for being so stupid. I felt disgusted,”
This story was shared by the woman on Reddit. The post went viral and people were very shocked. The post was widely shared on other social media platforms, and three more women came out speaking of similar experiences at the studio. One of them, a 23-year-old woman, alleged in a post on Instagram that the accused similarly molested her two years ago when she went there to get a tattoo but she suffered in silence fearing stigma and bad publicity. Two FIRs were lodged against Sujeesh on Friday, 4 March, after four women allegedly made a complaint with the Kochi City Police Commissioner. Sujeesh, who was on the run ever since the issue came out, was arrested by the Kochi city police team while he was trying to reach the office of an advocate on Saturday night 5 March 2022. The police have commenced recording the statements of the survivors and also will be taking their medical examination of the women. After the allegations, his family and friends claimed that the tattooing was done openly and that he had not sexually abused any women.
A close friend of Sujeesh while speaking to IANS said, "Sujesh is innocent and these cases are due to business rivalry and we will take legal recourse on this matter. Nothing much to say other than this."
