In their 10 years of marriage, the CEO of a Silicon Valley startup beat up his wife multiple times harshly. While this can send chills down the spine, the judge hearing this case went easy on the accused. Santa Clara District Attorney, Jeff Rosen in a move to avoid deportations, offered a plea deal last week to Abhishek Gattani, co-founder of Cuberon who was seen beating his wife Neha Rastogi in the video produced by his wife.
Gattani, 38, pleaded “no contest” to beating his wife for a decade but Rosen’s judgement came as a surprise facing flak and outraging people. The accused has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, which will translate to only 13 days of actual confinement. The rest of his sentence has been brought down to community service and others.
Rastogi, 36, felt cheated with the verdict and appealed for a reconsideration of the charges.
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“His charge should be felony – battery with the intent to harm if not kill. Offensive touching? I call it terrorism. That’s how I felt – terrorised and controlled held hostage by the fear of pain, humiliation and assault on my being and my daughter’s,” read the statement submitted to the court in Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara County Superior Court on Thursday.
Both the tormentor and the victim are from India who moved to the USA and pursued their respective careers in the country. The abuse started immediately after they got married in 2009.
“He hit me, multiple times during each incident on my face, arms, head, belly, pulled my hair and abused me and called me a bitch, whore, slut, bastard and much more in my language,” said his wife to the court.
Things became public in 2013 when a postal worker in Sunnyvale called the police after witnessing Gattani “dragging and punching” his wife outside their home. The seriousness of the crime was reduced after Rastogi was told that charges of felony assault will lead to her husband’s deportation.
Things got out of hand when the ex-Kosmix employee started pushing her to suicide through his manipulated talks. Rastogi who had worked with Apple produced a six minutes clip recorded by her on her iPhone which gave a clear view of the crime committed by her husband.
But despite the evidence, Gattani’s lawyer reached a plea agreement with assistant district attorney Steve Fein.