Kochi city police commissioner said, “As of now, we have six FIRs registered against the accused.”
Thiruvananthapuram:
The Kerala Police on Sunday arrested a popular tattoo artist from Kochi on charges of rape, sexual assault and molestation committed by at least 6 women – all his former clients. He has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
The complaints were filed after an 18-year-old woman’s social media post went viral at Sujeesh PS’s tattoo studio – Infected Tattoo Studio.
The woman alleged that she was raped while the artist continued to get the needle tattooed on her spine. According to the police, the woman has not lodged a complaint.
However, following the viral post, several other women took to social media to share their experiences of sexual abuse by the same tattoo artist over the years.
“We are taking 164 statements of the complainants since yesterday. As of now, we have six FIRs registered against the accused, who was initially absconding. All are non-bailable offences. And surrendered only after he was cornered. Police from all sides,” Kochi city police commissioner CH Nagaraju told NDTV.
“This is not a one-time complaint. We are getting a lot of complaints. There are many other tattoo studios. We have not received any complaint against them. All complaints are against this one particular person. Even if the complaints are about incidents Beforehand, we still have the means to investigate them, which includes oral evidence and details of how the complainant must have felt or shared with his trusted family members or friends, because all this within the confines of closed four walls. Happening inside,” Mr Nagaraju added.
Police said he surrendered late on Saturday night and was initially taken to Cheranallur police station for questioning.
In another case, Liju Krishna, director of upcoming Malayalam film Padavettu, was also arrested on Sunday for raping Kannur in Kerala.
“Liju Krishna has been arrested under section 376 of IPC. We cannot give any details of the complainant, but he is not from the film industry. Instead, [she] There is someone who knows him well,” a police officer told NDTV.
The budding film director will be produced before a magistrate in Kochi on Monday, police said.