TIRUCHY: Two men and a juvenile were arrested on Sunday night for running a tattoo shop without a license and allegedly putting people’s lives in danger by performing tongue-split surgery on their customers.
According to police, S Hariharan (25), from Venice street in Chinthamani in Tiruchy, performed a tongue-split surgery on his friend V Jayaraman (24) from Thiruverumbur. He recorded the procedure and posted it on Instagram. The video went viral on social media.
Following complaints on social media, a health team from the Tiruchy corporation visited the tattoo shop. During the inspection, it was revealed that Hariharan was operating this shop without a trade license and using unauthorized surgical equipment without any medical qualification.
Based on a complaint, Fort police arrested Hariharan, his friend Jayaraman and a juvenile under various sections including JJ Act. The juvenile later came out on bail. They also sealed the shop and seized the surgical equipment.
Upon investigation it was found that Hariharan has been running Alien Emo Tattoo Studio on Melachinthamani Road for over a year. Seven months ago, he went to Mumbai and got his eyeball tattooed with a dye and tongue-split tattoo.
“Hariharan has done tongue-splitting tattoos like snakes on three persons. He also did multiple tattoos on the private parts of both males and females. He charges Rs 8,000 to Rs 40,000 depending on the tattoo and location. He earns around Rs 3 lakh per months,” a city health officer Dr M Vijay Chandran said.