By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : Muhammad Asif Ali, who was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) July 2 soon after fellow Gold Coast doctor Muhammad Haneef was detained, has been suspended from his job.
A Queensland Health spokeswoman said that the director general had suspended Ali with pay after receiving some information from Queensland Police, according to media reports here Monday.
The director general said the information did not relate to terrorism allegations but the matter had been referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Medical Board of Queensland, the reports said.
The Queensland Health spokeswoman was quoted in the media as saying that Ali was suspended on the evening of July 27, around the time Haneef was freed from the high security Wolsten Correctional Centre after the terrorism charge against him was dropped.
Ali and Haneef had both moved from Liverpool to Australia on a 457 work visa to work at the Gold Coast hospital.
After their arrest, Haneef spent the next 25 days in custody, but Ali was released following questioning in connection with the botched British bombings.
Police sources described him as a man who had simply made an "unfortunate acquaintance". AFP Commissioner Mick Keelty had said there was nothing to suggest Ali had committed a crime and he was free to return into the community.
But this was not before damage had been done to his reputation. His face had been splashed on the front pages of the tabloids, under headlines such as "the enemy within" and "terror link on our doorstep".
Ali, 26, will remain suspended until the investigation against him is complete.
After being released, Ali had told the Channel Seven TV network that he was extremely tired and just wanted to sleep. "I'm totally unaware of anything, Please leave me alone. I don't know anything."