Lankan govt reinstates doctor accused of sterilising over 4K Sinhalese women

Colombo, December 16

The Sri Lankan government on Thursday reinstated a Muslim doctor, who was sent on compulsory leave for allegedly performing illegal sterilisation on over 4,000 women from the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community with the objective of causing the extinction of the Sinhala race.

The health ministry in a statement also announced to pay arrears of Dr Shafi Shihabdeen’s salary for the period he was sent on compulsory leave.

Shihabdeen, a doctor in Kurunegala government hospital, was arrested in May 2019 and subsequently suspended from his service over allegations that he sterilised over 4,000 women from the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community after performing caesarean deliveries with the objective of causing the extinction of the Sinhala race.

The 42-year-old doctor was also accused of being a member of the jihadi group, which carried out the deadly Easter attacks in 2019 that killed 270 people, including 11 Indians.

Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out coordinated blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on the Easter Sunday in 2019.

Shihabdeen denied the allegations. He was later granted bail in July 2019.

A police investigation into the allegations proved negative. In a court hearing, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials had said there was not enough evidence to substantiate the allegations against the doctor.

In January last year, Shihabdeen made a request to the Health Service Committee of the Public Service Commission that he be reinstated.

He also filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition, seeking an order declaring his arrest and detention unlawful.

Shihabdeen in 2015 had unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary election on the ticket of the then ruling United National Party (UNP). —PTI