Two Sri Lankan cricketers arrested for filming female doctors bathing in private hotel

Two under-19 cricketers from Sri Lanka have been arrested by local police in Narahenpita for allegedly filming a couple of female doctors in a private hotel while they were having a bath. Both the cricketers used their mobile phones to record the video of the female doctors, who were in a hotel to attend a conference.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has not made any official communication on the matter related to the shameful incident. 

“Narahenpita Police arrested two members of the Sri Lanka Under-19 National Cricket Team following allegations that they had secretly filmed several female doctors while they were bathing. The incident took place at a private hotel in Narahenpita, where the doctors were staying while attending a professional conference," Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) reported, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

"According to the police, the suspects had allegedly used their mobile phones to record the doctors through bathroom openings. Upon further investigation, police discovered that the suspects had also recorded video footage of male individuals at the premises," the report added.

"Police are currently investigating whether any of the recorded footage has been uploaded to the internet or shared on social media platforms. The two suspects were produced before the Hulftsdorp Magistrate’s Court, where they were granted bail,” it added further.

The latest media report adds that both the cricketers have been freed out on bail after depositing USD 1564. They are now slated to appear for a legal hearing in a local court on Monday, May 25, which is expected to reveal further details in this regard.

This is not the first time that Sri Lankan cricketers have been involved in cases of sexual harassment. Tillakratne Dilshan, the veteran batter, was accused of sexual assault on a girl he met at a night club at the end of the Zimbabwe tour in 2010. Jeevan Mendis and Dilhara Fernando were also accused of supporting Dilshan in the episode.

The case of Danushka Gunathilaka is also quite infamous. While Gunathilaka was playing in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, he was accused of rape, a charge he was acquitted of later. More recently, Dulip Samaraweera faced a stern ban by Cricket Australia for inappropriate behaviour towards a female cricketer while he was in Victoria for his coaching job.