Kochi tattoo artist accused of sexually assaulting several women

Several women in Kerala have raised sexual assault allegations against a tattoo artist in Kochi.

It all started with a social media post by an 18-year-old woman, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the tattoo artist after her piercing at the studio in Kochi a week back.

The Kochi city police have initiated a preliminary investigation into the allegations even as no women have lodged a formal complaint yet. The accused tattoo artists was also reportedly absconding.

In the post, the 18-year-old woman said that when she went to the studio to get a tattoo on her lower back, the artist started groping her and later raped her after injecting a needle on her spine. She added that she never thought that the artist would have the audacity to do something like that.

After the post was widely shared on social media, more women came out narrating similar experiences from the same tattoo artist over the last couple of years. Many had also sent personal messages to the 18-year-old who made the first post.

Kochi City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam told DH that the police contacted the woman seeking a formal complaint and statement with details of when and where the incident took place. The woman, however, said that she did not want to file any formal complaint. However, since it involved a sexual assault the police suo motu initiated a probe.

He added that the tattoo artist could not be traced as he his cell phone was switched off but efforts were being made to track him down.

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