Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa has sent a letter of demand for Rs. 1 billion in damages from YouTube content creator Dharmasri Kariyawasam, accusing him of disseminating false and defamatory material linking the Minister to the importation of Ondansetron and inciting public unrest.
The notice, sent through the Minister’s lawyers, states that investigations are currently under way into 10 medicines, including Ondansetron Injection, manufactured by India-based Maan Pharmaceutical Limited.
Ondansetron Injection was among nine injectable drugs recently suspended by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) following reports of patients administered with the drug suffering adverse complications.
Despite the ongoing investigations, Kariyawasam allegedly aired a widely viewed programme on his YouTube channel titled “The hidden story of the Indian drug that claimed lives, Mayor Balthazaar’s relative, and Minister Nalinda’s cover-up.”
According to the letter of demand, the programme falsely portrayed Minister Jayatissa as being directly responsible for importing the drug, colluding with the supplier, and attempting to conceal the issue, while depicting him as indifferent to public suffering.
The Minister’s lawyers maintain that these allegations are entirely false and defamatory, citing passages in which Kariyawasam allegedly accused Jayatissa of lying about the supplier, concealing facts related to PTC Medicals (Pvt) Ltd., the actual importer, and showing a lack of concern over deaths purportedly linked to the drug.
The programme also claimed links between the directors of PTC Medicals and family members of Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar, implying political favouritism.