Suspect identified as military deserter

Sexual assault on female doctor at A’pura hospital

By Norman Palihawadane and Saman Indrajith

Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that the main suspect involved in the alleged rape of a female doctor at the doctors’ quarters of the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital had been identified as an Army deserter.

Responding to a question raised by Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, the Minister said that authorities had uncovered many details pertaining to this tragic incident. Five police teams have been deployed to track down and arrest the suspect.

“We have information about the whereabouts of the suspect, and the police believe that the suspect can be taken in soon,” the Minister said.

Opposition Leader Premadasa raised concerns in Parliament, condemning the attack and questioning the safety of female doctors in public hospitals. He urged the government to take immediate action and proposed stricter laws to punish perpetrators of such crimes.

Premadasa said the doctor had faced the situation while she was going to her on-call duty room.

“An outsider is said to have threatened the doctor using a knife. He is then said to have allegedly raped her inside her duty room. Sri Lanka has not heard of such incidents inside a hospital in recent times,” he said.

Premadasa said it is a serious issue for a doctor to be attacked while on duty at a prominent state hospital. He said that it raised questions about the safety of female doctors in government hospitals.

Condemning the incident, the Opposition Leader said even female officers engaged in public service are being inconvenienced and it was a serious problem for the safety of the people.

Urging the government to take strict action regarding this incident, MP Premadasa said the Opposition was ready to support the enactment of the necessary legislation to impose severe punishment on those who commit such barbaric acts.

The incident, which occurred on Monday night (10), sparked outrage, with doctors at the hospital launching a strike, demanding justice.

Doctors at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital were on strike, demanding the immediate arrest of the suspect at the time this edition went to the press.