– International forensic expert’s credentials reaffirmed amid questions

DESPITE public attempts to question his qualifications, internationally recognised forensic pathologist Dr. Shubhakar Karra Paul is more than qualified to conduct the autopsy on 11-year-old Adrianna Younge.

Dr. Paul brings over 23 years of experience in forensic pathology, covering thousands of autopsy examinations, crime scene analyses and forensic reports.
Since 2021, he has served as Consultant Forensic Pathologist at the Forensic Sciences Centre in Barbados under the Office of the Attorney General.
He is a Member of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (MFFLM) of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) and holds an MBBS, MD, and DNB, along with professional licensing in Barbados, the UK, and India.

Dr. Paul’s extensive career includes service as a Forensic Medical Examiner for Police Scotland and NHS Trusts in the United Kingdom for over a decade.
He has also served as a Resident Medical Officer at BMI Alexandra Hospital and has held various academic teaching positions across India and Northern Ireland.
In addition to performing autopsies in complex homicide, suicide, and drug-related cases, he has trained law enforcement officers internationally and presented research at major forensic conferences.

The government had brought Dr. Paul to Guyana as part of efforts to ensure transparency, independence, and public trust in the probe into Younge’s death.
Nevertheless, on Friday, the family of Adrianna Younge, through opposition-aligned attorney Darren Wade, refused to allow Dr. Paul to perform the autopsy.
Wade publicly questioned whether Dr. Paul possesses postgraduate training specifically in anatomical pathology and called for the Government of Guyana to allow investigators from the United States or Canada to conduct the investigation instead.

Authorities are currently awaiting the arrival of another independent pathologist who was identified by family members of the deceased to perform the post-mortem examination.