By IANS
New York : An Indian American accused of secretly feeding his girlfriend an abortion drug has jumped bail in Wisconsin and is suspected to have fled to India, officials said.
Manishkumar M. Patel (aka Manish Patel), a 34-year-old married man and resident of Appleton, was charged in December with secretly giving Darshana Patel a drink spiked with RU-486, a drug used to induce abortions, causing the foetus to abort.
Patel is also charged with six other offences and two misdemeanours stemming from incidents surrounding his relationship with Darshana Patel.
His friends and family put up a bond of $750,000 for him but he didn’t show up for an appointment with the authorities Dec 27, and is presumed to have fled to India with his wife.
His defence attorney, Thomas Zoesch, has withdrawn from the case. Darshana Patel, a physician, has claimed part of the bail money.
Court documents also showed that Manish Patel took hundreds of thousands of dollars from Darshana for his businesses and other purposes. Darshana’s lawyer said she would try to help her client recover that money and also get compensation for the miscarriage.
Manish Patel’s bond revocation hearing is scheduled for Jan 22.
The charges against him carry a maximum penalty of 99 years in prison and $92,000 in fines.