[BREAKING] MeToo accused tattoo artist Sujeesh granted bail by Kerala court in two rape cases

A Kerala court on Friday granted bail to rape accused tattoo artist Sujeesh PS..The Kochi-based tattoo artist is accused of sexually assaulting and raping multiple women while he was tattooing them. He was arrested by the Kerala Police in the wee hours of March 6, 2022, and has been in judicial custody since.Additional Sessions Judge Shibu Thomas was seized of two cases where Sujeesh was accused of rape. The court had previously denied him bail. On Friday, however, it allowed Sujeesh's second bail application, preferred through advocates Geo Paul and CR Pramod.The judge noted that the investigation is now at an advanced stage and medical examination, evidence and statements from the victims have been gathered. Therefore, no further purpose would come from further detention of the petitioner, the court said. However, to allay the apprehensions of the prosecution of possible hampering of the rest of the investigation, the court set stringent conditions while enlarging Sujeesh on bail..A Judicial First Class Magistrate had recently allowed Sujeesh's application for bail in five cases where he was accused of sexual assault under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code.The floodgates of the accusations against Sujeesh, the owner of 'Inkfected' tattoo studio, were opened with an anonymous Reddit post.The post recounted the harrowing experience of being sexually assaulted by Sujeesh while he had a tattoo needle pressed on her.Following this, many others came out with their own stories of being abused and groped by Sujeesh while he was tattooing them. This led to the registration of several FIRs against him.While most of the complaints would attract the offence under Section 354 (assaulting a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty) of the IPC, two of the FIRs were registered for offences under Section 376 (rape).This case renewed the conversation around women's safety in Kerala, especially in spaces like tattoo studios and parlours. Women took to social media with similar #MeToo experiences in other studios and makeup salons..Disclosure: The reporter's spouse is a lawyer for the accused in the case. One of the reporter's acquaintances is a complainant in the matter..[Read Order]