Rajitha appoints committee to investigate sterilisation claims

The Health Ministry is set to appoint a special investigative body to look into the allegations against a doctor from Kurunegala Hospital, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said yesterday.

An investigative body, appointed by the Health Ministry, comprising three members of the Ceylon College of Gynaecologists and one member from the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) would probe the allegations, Dr. Senaratne told a press conference held at Temple Trees.

The investigative body will inquire into all complaints against a doctor based in Kurunegala Hospital who has been accused of performing sterilisation procedures on women forcibly, Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said. The doctor is now in the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department, arrested for earning assets in suspicious manner, Police Spokesperson SSP Ruwan Gunasekera said in a statement.

On Saturday, the Director of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital, Dr. Sarath Weerabandara, at a media briefing, requested women to come forward to lodge complaints immediately to the hospital authorities if there is any suspicion that they had been subjected to unlawful sterilisation after caesarean operations performed by the doctor under investigation.