India-born surgeon Jayant Patel, facing charges of manslaughter and negligence for the death of 17 patients in Australia, was arrested by the FBI at his home in Oregon, US.

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 ‘Dr Death’ by the media, 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 5,000 dollars 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 in Gujarat, had moved to the US in 1977 and was banned from surgery in New York and Oregon before he arrived in Australia.

The Australian government said it was very pleased with the US co-operation in the case.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia had issued an arrest warrant for Patel in the US and he was arrested on Monday. During a brief hearing on Wednesday, Patel reportedly asked for a public defender to represent him, saying he could not afford a lawyer.

Oz spent $1.25 mn

Meanwhile, the Australian government said it had spent a staggering 1.25 million Australian dollars to get Patel arrested.

The Queensland Attorney-General’s department revealed it had spent 561,000 Australian dollars on Patel’s extradition in 2006-2007 and 690,000 dollars in 2007-2008, The Australian newspaper reported.