An Indian-origin doctor in the US manages to avoid jail time after pushing his wife and two kids off a cliff

Dharmesh Patel, an Indian-American physician, will not be imprisoned for the time being despite his alleged attempt to kill his wife and two children by driving them off a cliff in his Tesla car in the United States. Rather, the man will receive mental health treatment. Patel, a radiologist in California, drove his car with his wife Neha and two children, ages seven and four, off a cliff following a psychotic breakdown last year, according to the psychologists testifying in court. They stated that Patel was afraid his kids would be used as sex traffickers, which is what caused him to crash the car.

Neha Patel eventually acknowledged that she did not want to pursue legal action against her husband while acknowledging that he purposefully drove the car down the cliff.

The accused was diagnosed with schizoaffective illness by the doctors. In addition, he suffered from major depression.

“In the weeks preceding the collision, he heard footsteps and believed he was being followed. A psychologist testified in court that the man’s actions at the time to shield his family from a worse fate were motivated by paranoia and even delusions.

“He was concerned that his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual molestation,” he said.

According to a US court ruling on Thursday, June 27, Patel qualified for “mental health diversion,” which spares an accused person with a mental illness from jail time in exchange for receiving mental health therapy.

Under the statute, consideration of such a provision is limited to cases where the disease was a contributing factor to the offense.

Based on the doctors’ diagnosis, Superior Court Judge Susan M. Jakubowski declared that Patel qualified for the program. She gave the order for his release and gave him permission to visit his folks in California.

The man must go to the court once a week and will be under GPS monitoring. In addition, he must turn in his passport and driver’s license and is not allowed to travel overseas. The case’s subsequent hearing is scheduled for July 1.