Kerala Police on Friday registered four cases against Sujeesh PS, owner of a local tattoo studio, days after an 18-year-old girl accused him of sexual harassment on a Reddit thread, sparking a flurry of #MeToo allegations on social media. Kochi Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said in a report that after adequate persuasion, four women came forward to file a formal complaint and the police have started searching for the accused.
A Reddit post shared almost three days ago sparked a flurry of sexual harassment allegations, including rape, against a popular tattoo artist in Kochi, Kerala. Sujeesh PS, owner of Palarivattom-based Inkfected Tattoo Studio, has been accused of molestation by several women.
According to Via Kochi, an Instagram page tracking the matter, the 18-year-old woman, who originally posted on Reddit, had decided not to file a case. Sharing her traumatic experience from a week before her lower back was inked, she alleged that Sujeesh asked her inappropriate questions like “Is the tattoo because you like sex?” “Are you a virgin?” “How many times have you done this?” “Is the guy your boyfriend outside? Do you know about BDSM?”
The post alleged that he sexually assaulted and raped an 18-year-old girl by holding a tattoo needle on her back.
“I thought it was all my fault, which I think is normal,” she said in the post. The accused also reportedly told her that she did not have to pay for the tattoo. News18 reached out to her, who described her first experience in tattoos, which she said was professional when she visited with her mother.
“I’ve been to other tattoo studios too, but knowing I’ll be alone, I chose to go here thinking, ‘He knows my mom, she wouldn’t have the guts to do anything,’ but I think my judgment is wrong. was,” she said.
Overwhelmed by the public attention the post received, which was ‘not her intention’, she said she had put the post out so that other women would not experience what she was going through. “I could deal with my trauma, but I wasn’t able to deal with the guilt of knowing that I made the stalker believe others to do something as well,” she said.
Since Sujeesh is an influential artist with over 50,000 followers (his followers have only increased after the allegations surfaced) and celebrity clients, the woman says she understands why people didn’t speak out against her earlier. Actors like Reema Kalingal and Parvati have shared Instagram posts in solidarity with the survivors. He further added that so far around 100 women have come forward to share similar trauma at the hands of the accused.
He is also unsure about the details of police cases being registered and reported News18 That she would make an “informed decision” after consulting lawyers and parents. “I am young and still processing everything. If I decide to go public about this, it will completely change everything,” she said.
He further expressed his gratitude to all the women who spoke about their stories and gave courage to others to do the same. She has added a Google Form link to her bio for other women to come forward and share their experiences of sexual abuse in this tattoo studio or any other.
In one of the stories shared by an alleged survivor, the accused has also allegedly molested a minor. Another Instagram user has alleged a “troubling experience” from two years ago while getting her ribs tattooed.
“I started feeling uncomfortable as soon as this man started tattooing me. I was asked to remove my bra and not given any piece of cloth to cover my body,” the then 20-year-old wrote in her post. As a first-timer, she was unsure about whether it was okay to be naked throughout the process without notice. Sujish then started groping her, he alleged. “Two years later, I feel and understand that Sujeesh sexually abused and molested me. As I read more testimony, I realized that this is a pattern he has used on many women,” she said.
Another woman, Varsha, who shared the original Reddit post on her Instagram page, is sharing messages received from other girls who have faced similar abuse by the alleged accused. Along with Via Kocchi, who also shared the 18-year-old’s story on Reddit, she’s tracking down survivors who have come forward to pursue legal action against the tattoo artist. The woman also got him tattooed a year ago.
She said that even though she had initially tried to convince her that only the tattooed person was allowed inside the room, she insisted on bringing in two of her friends because the whole process was being vlogged for YouTube. . “Since the cameras were pointing at him the whole time and there were two other people with me, he didn’t misbehave. But I got a bad vibe from him, and the way he talks and touches,” she said News18,
“The lack of support for survivors, even from their own families and friends, the fear of society, the reactions of relatives, the uncertainty of the future – all do not contribute to the victims’ speaking up. Our country’s judicial process also doesn’t make it easy,” she told News18.
Several women have shared videos detailing their ordeal, and have said that ‘Sujish has followed a pattern in his abusive ways’. Most accounts detail being forced to ‘get tattoos alone’ in his studio, forcibly groping his genitals, groping and asking inappropriately offensive questions to offer discounts.
A Kochi wedding photographer, who got her ribs and chest tattooed from Sujeesh’s studio in early 2018, also claimed that she went through a ‘horrible experience’ in an Instagram post after a viral Reddit post. She alleged that Sujeesh touched her several times inappropriately, kept provoking about her personal life and ‘negligently put her hand on her waist despite removing him more than once’.
She said that the accused even asked her to lower her braid so that “the ink doesn’t fall on her.” “All the time, with the tattoo needle pressed against him, Sujeesh acted as if it was all normal which left me confused and stunned,” she said.
“It took me a while to process what happened. People expect a quick response from us, but your whole body shuts down. Then comes the guilt of not taking action, which you struggle with so much all your life.” , ”she wrote in her post. She added News18 That he was offered a discount of Rs.500 on his tattoo. On registering the FIR, she says, “We want the case to remain strong, but minor victims are afraid to come forward.”
“Why didn’t you speak up earlier, you could go to a female tattooist, why did you get the tattoo in the first place, why didn’t you react immediately,” are some of the questions she says she had to battle. “This is the main reason why women do not come forward to report sexual harassment,” she said. News18,
The accused has not replied to any of the allegations so far. many attempts by News18 Unable to reach Infect and Sujeesh through social media and phone. The accused is reportedly absconding for the last two days and the tattoo studio has been closed.
A flurry of posts has sparked a resurgence of the #MeToo wave on social media, with many now coming out against a celebrity makeup artist and stylist from Kerala, whose Instagram account has been deactivated following allegations. A female bridal makeup artist shared in her Instagram stories messages from several women who spoke out against the sexual harassment she faced after Sujeesh’s uproar.
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