Sujeesh PS, a Kochi-based tattoo artist accused of sexually abusing multiple women, was arrested by the Kerala police on Saturday, March 5. Earlier in the day, the police had filed two First Information Reports (FIR) against him, after six women approached the Commissioner of Police in this regard. Sujeesh, who was on the run ever since the allegations came out, was arrested by the Kochi city police team while he was trying to reach the office of an advocate on Saturday night.
The complaints had been filed at the Palarivottam and Cheranalloor station limits, under which two tattoo studios run by Sujeesh — called Inkfected — fell. The women’s lawyer told the media that the accused was booked under sections 354 (assault on woman with the intent to outrage modesty) and 376 (sexual assault) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been used. Via Kochi, a magazine that publishes cty-based and cultural stories, had assisted the woman in filing the complaint with the police.
Several women have accused Sujeesh of groping, molesting and sexually assaulting them when they went to get tattoos made by him. The issue was brought to the fore a week ago, when an 18-year-old woman posted about the incident on Reddit. In the post, she accused Sujeesh of asking inappropriate questions and sexually assaulting her. The post was also shared widely on Instagram, and several women came out with similar allegations against Sujeesh.
Kochi city police commissioner, C Nagaraju while speaking to IANS said, "He was trying to evade the arrest, our team took him into custody and will be taking the statement of the survivors and their medical examination. He will be produced before a magistrate on Sunday itself."