I am Doctor. Shafi Shihabdeen speakin.

Credit By: Rasik Safeela Rasmiya
International Human Rights Movement: President of Women and Youth Empowerment, Sri Lanka.

RASIK SAFEELA RASMIYA +94763364899 (Bingo Media Journalist) And South asian chronicle international Newspapers reporter.

On 2019.05.23, a news item was published in the Sinhala language newspaper ‘Divine’. It was reported that a Muslim doctor from the Thowheed Jamaat had performed illegal sterilization on four thousand Sinhala women. The newspapers had come and name was not mentioned there, but you must have know.

When I learned about this news item, I only understood that someone was targeting a Muslim doctor. But I could not guess or conclude who he was. There is no way it could be me. Because I am not specifically identified as a member of any Islamic movement.
Another important point is that it is not possible for one doctor to sterilize four thousand people. Only one in a hundred people who have children through surgical procedures is usually sterilized.,
Channa jayasumana, a professor of medicine at Raja Rutter University, posted a post on his Facebook page. He linked a ‘banner’ depicting his participation in the 2015 parliamentary elections to a newspaper article about the elections, suggesting that the suspect could be this person
You know what the situation was in the country at that time. The country was already in a state of panic after the (Easter) 21-4 suicide bombing. All Muslims were viewed with suspicion or hatred, and many were being arrested on suspicion.
In such a situation, the information posted by the professor was like pouring oil on the fire. Many people who were not in a state of mind to investigate anything were directly spewing racial hatred against Muslims under his post. They started sharing his post as ‘screenshots’ on their Facebook pages. Many people were leaving very bad, racial comments under these posts, and the information started spreading like wildfire. A massive. This is seen as an act of a conspiracy.
In the current state of fear in the country, any calm person would lose his balance when someone is directly targeted and publicly accused. That situation happened to us too. My wife and children and I were thrown into extreme tension
The next day, 24.05.2019, was the clinic day at the hospital. I usually go to the clinic regardless of any work. As usual, I went to the clinic in the morning and completed my work. Although nothing was happening inside the hospital during the day, I could feel the situation outside deteriorating
Sensing a dangerous situation approaching,
I went to my superior, Dr. Pathini Shekara (VOG), and informed him that I was being targeted and that false accusations were being made against me and that they were being spread rapidly. I also requested him to go to the hospital director and investigate the situation, share his views, and take necessary security measures in consultation with the relevant authorities. He accepted.
We met and spoke directly to the hospital director, Dr. Sarath Weerabandara. He is a dentist. I have heard that he was expelled from the Anuradhapura hospital. He was transferred from there and was working at the Kurunegala hospital. Nevertheless, there was no bitterness or resentment between him and me. Until then, everything
was going smoothly.

When I told him about the problem, he said that he could do nothing because it was an issue outside the hospital.

We had not actually come to talk to him expecting this answer. I knew that I would not be harmed by any level of staff working in the hospital. I knew that no one outside the hospital would harm me. But since I was being deliberately trapped, I could use my authority as the hospital director to talk to the security officials and take action. I told him that I had come to talk to him with this expectation.
But he did not take it lightly and asked me a question, ‘Have you performed eight thousand gynecological surgeries?’ I gave him the answer. ‘It is possible that you have performed eight thousand gynecological surgeries. But there is no possibility of sterilizing four thousand.’
However, his answers were not satisfactory. This was a big disappointment not only for me but also for those who had come before. His careless responses, which were irresponsible to protect a doctor working under the administration, made us worried. We returned dissatisfied.
That day was the 19th day of Ramadan. It was a Friday. I had gone to the Friday prayers and returned. I was also observing that the situation was getting worse and worse.
After Asr prayers, I met with Lawyer
Rushti Habib and discussed the matter. He suggested that we file a complaint with the Investigation Department for implicating me in this matter without any evidence. I accepted that and the next morning we decided to go to Colombo and file a complaint.
After that, I contacted the Deputy Minister, Ashoka Abhayasinghe, and explained my situation. He met the DIG and asked me to file a complaint.
During Taraweeh, I received a call on my mobile phone. My wife’s brother had called from home. He said that two policemen had come to our house and wanted to meet me. So I left the Taraweeh prayer and left for home.
When I got home, I saw two more policemen – a total of four in civilian clothes.
One of them was an inspector! But they did not search my house that day
The policemen who had come started chatting with me in a very friendly manner. I also spoke to them openly and openly.
I told them that I had always acted without discrimination, whether in medical services or in general assistance that I could provide. That was the truth. If I had acted in such a way, whether in medical services or in general activities or in the way I interacted with others, I would not have gained any respect in the Kurunegala medical community.
I am deeply saddened by the false accusations leveled against me by Professor Channa Jayasumana.
I asked them to register my complaint. They said, ‘No, a higher officer has to come for that’ and made me sit on a chair. ‘Do I need a senior officer to come to register a complaint?’ I asked. ‘No, we can only do what we are told. You have to stay here till morning’ they replied.
I was in a state of complete confusion. I couldn’t make sense of what was going on around me. I couldn’t even decide what to do. It was like being blindfolded and left in the jungl
When the Police Crime Branch Officer arrived at the police station, it was 7.00 am. He was not wearing a uniform. He took me in his ‘Town Ace’ vehicle and drove me towards a place called Vehara. Vehara was the location of the Crime Branch office. The vehicle was full of vegetables. I put them aside and got in. Another police officer also came with me. He only opened his mouth after I got out and went inside. ‘You have been ordered to be detained for three months. We have to investigate within that period.’
When I asked him what was the reason for the order to detain me? What crime have I committed?’ he only replied, ‘This is an order from above
I was kept at the Wehera CID and then brought back to the Kurunegala Police Station in the afternoon. There, three people from the CID came and interrogated me. Actually, these were all new experiences for me. I had never been to a police station in my life.
i fourth floor
They took me there and made all the arrangements for the investigation in the GRP unit. The officer in charge of that unit told me, ‘Your investigation will take place here. It will be under my leadership.’ They detained me. there
I had to spend forty-seven days there. My trial began the next day. They made me sit in a chair and interrogated me.
The second part of the trial
It was on the day I was taken for my term that I saw the outside world after forty-seven days: I saw the sun. There were long arguments in court that day. Since none of the charges against Maruthuvar Shafi have been proven, we cannot continue to keep him in our custody,” the CID officials told the court. The judge announced the decision to detain me in the Kegalle prison for another fourteen days
When I was taken to court from the Kegalle prison, my lawyers came and met me. I had paid Rs. 25 lakh to one lawyer and Rs. 8 lakh 50000 thousand to another for the court arguments alone. Lawyer Navaratna Wasantha Bandara argued in court on my behalf in a very good manner. At 6.50 pm, the judge came to the bench and finally announced that he would grant bail on certain conditions. The four were granted bail worth twenty-five lakh rupees. The bail amount was two and a half lakh rupees.
The bail was granted on the condition that he sign the petition at the Criminal Investigation Department in Colombo every Sunday.
It is also worth mentioning the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA). This organization of doctors is not at all concerned about the false accusation of one of its members. They have a responsibility towards their members. They have not issued a statement or news. They have not taken this into consideration at all. The attempt to create ethnic tension, create fear among minorities and gain political gain, which was portrayed as an earthquake, has come to nothing.
According to the Establishment Act, the officers under him must act in accordance with the order or directive issued by the Secretary of the Ministry. In my case, they did not comply with his order and delayed it. Following this, the Director submitted a letter to the Court Registrar stating that the order had been issued to pay the salary to Dr. Shafi. In this way, they delayed it and did not pay my salary. I filed a ‘Writ Petition’ in the court against this decision. In the end, only the basic salary of 38 months was paid, which was twenty-six lakhs and 85000/ thousand rupees. Following this, my salary from the Kurunegala hospital continued to be paid
When I received this money, my wife and I discussed it. It was my salary for the period when I was not on duty, but it was my legal right. I was not interested in taking that money. We were thinking about sharing this money with the Muslim Women’s College, Bambalapitiya, Zahira College, Colombo, Zahira Kalmunai Mahmood Balika, Bathiudeen Mahmood Girls’ College, Kandy, and Treaty College, Kandy, which had extended a helping hand to my children’s education during my wanderings.
During this period, there was a huge shortage of medicines in the country. There was a danger of closing the emergency departments due to the shortage of the life-saving drug ‘Adrenaline’. So we changed our decision and decided to get the medicine and donate it. We contacted Dr. Ahmed Hamdani, who is working in the ministry, and arranged for the medicine to be delivered from India.
When I contacted an Indian pharmaceutical company, the company agreed to provide the medicine, which was worth 390.00 Sri Lankan rupees, at 135.00 per pill. The medicine was obtained through the Sri Lankan agent of this company. I paid an additional 15,000 rupees in addition to the salary I received, making a total of 27 lakh rupees and purchased twenty thousand vials of the medicine.
I donated it to the Ministry of Health.
A preliminary inquiry was held at the Ministry of Health regarding the allegations against me. The inquiry committee consisted of medical experts from the department. The committee stated in its report that the person concerned was an innocent person, that it was a planned conspiracy, and that the person concerned had no connection with the allegations. Based on the departmental inquiry committee, me on 29.05.2023. The Public Service Commission sent a letter to recall me to work. They were trying to send me to another hospital instead of recalling me there. Accordingly, they decided to assign me to a hospital outside the province and asked me to go to Warakapola Hospital. It is right that a person who has been accused and found innocent should be recalled to the same place where he served.

Therefore, I wrote to the Ministry and the Public Service Commission to reject this decision. After two and a half months at Kurunegala Hospital the next today.
When my eldest daughter was studying in the ninth grade at Maliyadeva Balika, Kurunegala, they started spreading false accusations against me. The very next day, they started isolating my daughter there. The school community and parents started pointing fingers, saying, “This child is the daughter of a doctor who performs abortions.” As a result, even after changing schools and studying in Tamil for a year, and then changing schools again and studying in Sinhala, my daughter got A grades in all nine subjects in the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination
Just as society and honest people considered my suffering as their own, they also celebrated my daughter’s exam success. Not everyone can understand this mentality. I can only say that this is an emotional phase in my life. In the midst of all this suffering and turmoil.

An incident that disturbed me and my son It happened in the school. He was studying at the Kurunegala Maleeya Desa Boys’ School and, fearing that he would be in danger, they took him away from the school andMy wife, with the help of some people, had enrolled my son, who had not been to school for a long time, in the Colombo Zahira College. A week after my son received his admission to the college, and when the majority community was in turmoil due to the charges against me, I was released on bail. The help rendered by the Colombo Zahira College administration and its officials for my son is unforgettable.
The situation at that time was boiling, and for the safety of my son administration has told not to mention father’s name to anyone – even students – for now. It was a precautionary measure taken by the administration to prevent it from being known and leaked out through word of mouth.
My son came home from school one day and hugged me and started crying. I asked him why he was crying
My friends asked me today, what is your father’s name. I remained silent without answering. So I felt very upset right there and started crying. Imagine what my son’s state of mind must have been at that time. Unable to bear it, tears welled up in my eyes. No child should be put in such a difficult situation where they cannot say their father’s name.
After returning to work, I received the same love from them. I continue to receive their same trust. I have fulfilled their medical needs. After so much suffering that was inflicted on me, I went back to the same hospital with a challenge as an individual who bore the responsibility of a society without any different perspective on the majority society.
I am working in the same hospital with courage so that everyone should understand that I am innocent and by donating my salary to the health department, I have shown that there should be no gap between races. My policy until my last breath is that all races should live as Sri Lankans.
We live in a very beautiful country. We should have transcended ethnic, linguistic and religious differences at some point. Unfortunately, due to the dominance of racial politics in our country, we are still experiencing the last century. It is my humble wish that today’s new generation should realize this.
I know that when I was accused and pointed fingers, people of all ethnicities were among those who said, “No. That couldn’t have been the case” and “He is not that kind of person.” I would like to express my gratitude to all of them on the basis of wanting to live as equals and brothers and sisters with all the ethnicities of this country.