CID to launch new probe into Shafi incident

Kurunegala Magistrate Sampath Hewawasam today allowed the CID to launch a fresh probe into the sterilisation charges against Dr. Mohamed Shafi of the Kurunegala Hospital.

It permitted the probe on a request made by CID's new director SSP W. Thilakaratna.

On July 25, the Court released Dr. Shafi on a cash bail of Rs.250,000 with four sureties of Rs.2.5 million each.

The 42-year-old doctor was arrested by the police on May 24 and handed over to the CID. He was first accused in a case in which he was charged with earning assets through suspicious means and in another case he was charged with performing illegal sterilisation operations on a large number of women.

This is the first occasion that a director appeared for a case being heard at Kurunegala Magistrate’s Court against the doctor Shafi Siyabdeen representing Criminal Investigations Department.

When this case was being heard on earlier occasions, former director Shani Abeysekera has not appeared for the case in the court. But, on his behalf, a team of officers including ASP B.A.Thissera and IP Nishantha de Silva have appeared in court.

Having explained the matters to the court in this regard, the new director of CID explained that the CID is the heart of the police and it should stabilise the security of the people and the country.

Accordingly, the senior SP Thilakarathna informed the court that he would carry forward the case with more transparency so that the people can have faith.

He said that he would hold a special inquiry in to the allegation levelled against the doctor Shafi that he has given a newly- born baby to another party as soon as the baby concerned was born in the ward and he promised to present its progress to the court at the next date of hearing the case.

In addition, he informed the court that a full report would be presented before the court after investigating the allegation levelled against the doctor regarding money laundering and investigations about his bank accounts.

In the meantime, the President’s counsel and Attorney Wasantha Bandara Nawaratna said that the transfer of the former director of CID, Shani Abeyesekera and ASP Thissera has become a barrier for the investigation process as well as an injustice for his client despite the fact that the investigations have been carried out by them justifiably.

In response to his statement, senior SP Thilakaratha said that the transfers concerned have been done according to an administrative process and that it would not become a barrier for hearing the case.

He added that when a police officer is transferred according to administrative reasons , other officers would be deployed to carry it forward continuously and that there are clever police officers in the CID for that purpose.

Chanaka Abeywickrema, the attorney who appeared for the mothers, informed the court that the suspect doctor should appear before the CID in every month but he has not appeared on two occasions.

In response to the statement, President’s counsel Nawarathna said that his client was serving at the base hospital in Kaththankludi in Batticaloa and that he was not able to come due to absence of a long distant buses because that date was the day following the Presidential Polls.

But his client has signed in the Kattankudy Police according to the advice of the CID officers. He further requested the court to relax the bond condition to appear before the CID.

On this occasion, Chief Magistrate Sampath Hewawasam said that a court order has to be carried out in the same way and he advised the accused that it was a fault on his part to be absent on the due date before CID as ordered by the court.

The magistrate ordered the case to be heard again on January 16, 2020. (Pushpakumara Jayaratna)