Washington/Melbourne: A US court today put off till March 18 the bail hearing of India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, facing charges of manslaughter and negligence for the death of 17 patients in Australia, after a request from his lawyer.

The 57-year-old Indian-American, who was arrested on Tuesday by FBI and will face an extradition hearing on April 10, will now remain in a high security detention centre in Portland until Tuesday. He is said to be in solitary confinement. District Court Judge Dennis J Hubel postponed the bail hearing upon a request from Patel's lawyer.

Dubbed as Dr Death by Australian media, Patel was arrested from his home in the US state of Oregon, where he had fled in 2005 after an Australian inquiry was launched that initially linked him to 87 deaths. Patel has been charged with 16 offences, including three counts of manslaughter related to alleged botched operations he performed on patients at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland from 2003 to 2005.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said its role in the case had ended and it was upto the prosecuting agencies in Portland to pursue the case.

Source : PTI