Washington / Melbourne: India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, facing charges of manslaughter and negligence for the death of 13 of his patients in Australia, was arrested by FBI at his home in the US state of Oregon.
Patel, 57, who faces life imprisonment if convicted, was ordered held by Portland Judge Hubel, pending a bail hearing on Thursday.
The NRI medico dubbed as 'Dr Death' by the media in Australia will face an extradition hearing on April 10.
Patel, who was working at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Australia's Queensland state since 2003, fled to the US in April 2005, a month after an inquiry was launched that finally linked him to several botched operations.
According to a statement released by the Oregon state prosecutor, the charges against Patel include three counts of manslaughter, three counts of grievous bodily harm, two counts of negligent acts or omissions causing harm, five counts of fraud, plus a further two counts of fraud valued at more than $5000 and one count of attempted fraud.
The maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment. The other charges carry jail terms ranging from two-and-a-half to 14 years.
Patel, who hails from Jamnagar, Gujarat, had moved to the US in 1977 and was banned from surgery in the US states of New York and Oregon before he arrived in Australia.
The Australian government said it was very pleased with the US cooperation in the case. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said that Australia had issued an arrest warrant for Patel in the United States and he was arrested on Monday.
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