Kochi, March 25: A lower court here on Friday denied bail to P.S. Sujeesh, a popular tattooist, after he was arrested on charges of sexually abusing several of his female clients.

Additional Sessions Judge Shibu Thomas observed that the investigation was still in the preliminary stage in two different cases against him and hence denied bail to Sujeesh.

"Though there is a delay of eight months in filing the complaint, I am not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner at this stage considering the nature of the offence and strong similar antecedents of petitioner and stage of investigation.

"Granting of bail to the petitioner at this stage may affect smooth progress of the investigation and possibility of the petitioner influencing the witnesses and interfering with the investigation cannot be ruled out," observed the judge. Delhi Plastic Factory Fire: One Killed After Massive Fire Breaks Out at Factory in Bawana.

Sujeesh pleaded that he was falsely implicated in the case. There are multiple cases registered against him including two female foreign nationals who filed their complaint through e-mail. On March 5, Sujeesh was taken into custody by the police based on six complaints registered against him at two different police stations and was produced before a magistrate the very next day, who remanded him to judicial custody. Sexual Assault on Wife Cannot but Be Termed to Be Rape, Says Karnataka High Court.

Trouble began for Sujeesh when an 18-year-old girl, in a social media post, had said that the accused sexually assaulted her when she went to his studio to get inked, after which, five more women came out against him stating that he had abused them. The 35-year-old has been running a successful studio at Kochi for the past 10 years.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 25, 2022 06:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).