Australian authorities deny delay in extradition of Dr Death

Australian state and federal authorities have denied deficiencies in extraditing Indian-born rogue surgeon Dr Jayant Patel from the United States on charges of manslaughter.

Melbourne, Aug 4 : Australian state and federal authorities have denied deficiencies in extraditing Indian-born rogue surgeon Dr Jayant Patel from the United States on charges of manslaughter.

The Courier-Mail reported that "top level briefings'' indicated that Dr Patel's matter has been held up partly because Australian prosecutors have failed to meet US standards of manslaughter.

The paper reported that prosecutors in Queensland were still finalising paperwork in relation to Dr Patel's case, and had not yet sent a warrant to the US.

A spokeswoman for the Queensland Office of the Department of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) today denied the case had been delayed, despite it being with the department for more than 18 months.

"The warrants issued late last year in relation to a number of charges against Jayant Patel, including three charges of manslaughter and five charges of grievous bodily harm, remain in force and the extradition application is being finalised on that basis," she said.

"There is no delay in proceedings. At this point, there is no anticipated change to charges or their wording,'' she added.

Dr Patel alias Dr Death, has been linked to 17 deaths at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland during his two years as director of surgery.

Originally, it was announced that Dr Patel would face four counts of manslaughter, eight of grievous bodily harm and 16 of fraud.

A commission of inquiry into the circumstances found that the Indian-trained surgeon had contributed to the death of 17 patients, and that he had operated outside the scope of his expertise.

Dr. Patel fled to the US on April 1 2005 after allegations of medical incompetence were raised in the Queensland Parliament.

It sparked off a political nightmare for Premier Peter Beattie, who established a commission of inquiry and introduced sweeping health reforms intended to fix a crippled health system.

Last November, warrants were issued for Patel's arrest on a number of charges, including three of manslaughter and five of causing grievous bodily harm, and now authorities are working to have him extradited from the US.

ANI