US warrant surrendering Dr. Death to Oz Police imminent

Melbourne, July 18 : Ending a three-year quest to bring controversial Indian-born surgeon Dr. Jayant Patel to justice over the deaths of former patients in Bundaberg, a US warrant surrendering the disgraced surgeon to Queensland Police is imminent.

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is under pressure to sign the warrant so that Patel can be extradited on criminal charges, including manslaughter, fraud and grievous bodily harm.

Police are waiting for notification on the surrender warrant from the Attorney Generals office, which will be alerted by the US State Department.

Queensland Police detectives are now coordinating arrangements for the handover with US Marshals in Los Angeles, where Patel is being held at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Centre.

Marshals are likely to escort Patel to the airport, where the transfer to Queensland authority will take place, news.com.au reported.

A federal judge in Portland Oregon set the deadline by warning US and Australian authorities that he would send Patel home on supervised arrest if they failed to carry out the extradition.

Patel has agreed not to fight extradition after spending four months in a maximum-security prison in Portland, often in solitary confinement and dressed in pink prison garb.

When he arrives in Brisbane, Patel would be taken to the police watch house for processing a pending bail hearing.

Patel's trial could take years, and cost many millions of dollars.

His lawyers are expected to seek bail for Patel, arguing he is not a flight risk with his passport surrendered, but Queensland authorities may argue against it.

ANI