Manmeet Alisher case: Criminal proceedings against accused Anthony O'Donohue suspended

Criminal proceedings against Anthony O'Donohue have been suspended. O’Donohue who has been in custody since October 2016 has been accused of setting Manmeet on fire as he drove into the Moorooka bus stop in October 2016.

Source: Supplied

The Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday heard that charges against 48-year-old Anthony O'Donohue accused of allegedly setting young Indian bus driver Manmeet Alisher on fire with an incendiary, had been suspended and his case had been transferred to the Mental Health Court.

Source: Supplied

O’Donohue who has been in custody since October 2016 has been accused of setting Manmeet on fire as he drove into the Moorooka bus stop in October 2016. Alisher's death saddened the Indian community in Australia as he was a beloved member and an active participant and performer at community events in Australia.

Thousands gathered across Australia's major cities to mourn his death and pay their tribute to him. The case created ripples in India too following which India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up his Australian counterpart PM Malcolm Turnbull.

Source: Tony Robertson

Now after almost three months, criminal proceedings against the man charged with murdering Manmeet have been suspended owing to his mental health.

The police told the court that O’Donohue has been involuntarily undergoing mental health treatment.

In November 2016, O’Donohue had been charged with murder of Manmeet Alisher and also faced 11 counts of attempted murder in relation to the passengers who fled the burning bus on that fateful day.

Later in December 2016, three new attempted murder charges were added.

Two days after Manmeet’s death, Queensland’s Health Minister Cameron Dick had revealed that O’Donohue was a mental health patient and an independent review of the mental health care given to 48-year-old Anthony O'Donohue had been ordered.

Source: 7News

Now, with criminal proceedings against Mr O’Donohue suspended, the case will now be taken over by Mental Health Court.

In Queensland, a criminal case is transferred to the Mental Health Court, when there is reasonable cause to believe that an alleged offender is or was mentally ill or has an intellectual disability of a degree that the person’s mental condition should be considered.

The Mental Health Court is constituted by a Supreme Court judge and the judge is assisted by two experienced psychiatrists who advise the court on medical or psychiatric matters.