A former Apple and Cisco engineer named Neha Rastogi claimed that her husband, Cuberon CEO Abhishek Gattani spent the past 10 years verbally and physically abusing her. He pleaded guilty to the crimes and will serve just 13 days in jails for his crimes.
The couple's struggle with domestic violence were well-documented. A Fortune article from April reveals that the marriage was an arranged one and that the violence began soon after the couple tied the knot. In fact, Gattani was arrested and charged with assault in 2013 after a postal worker called police when he saw Gattani beating his wife on their Sunnyvale sidewalk. The couple have a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
As many victims do, Rastogi stayed in her marriage and only summoned the courage to return to the police after collecting evidence of Gattani's abuse including audio of him telling her, "Yeah, I would like to see you murdered."
Gattani was then charged with felony assault.
According to ABC7, his attorneys worked out a plea deal with the Santa Clara County District Attorney that allowed Gattani to plead guilty to a lesser felony. As a result, he will serve just under two weeks in jail, spend the following five months picking up trash, and will not be deported back to his home country of India.
"When I made the leap of faith I felt that I would have better support from the system and I think I totally misjudged that," Rastogi told CBS 5.
Obviously ,Rastogi was hoping for a stricter sentence. Her husband, who threatened to kill her repeatedly, will be back on the streets two weeks from today. The only request of hers ordered by the judge was that Gattani start his jail sentence tomorrow as opposed to five months from now.
The Daily Beast published the victim impact statement that Rastogi read in court. It says, in part:
In these past few months I have tried come to terms with the fact that the man I married, the father of my child, is a horrible human being, and didn't deserve my care or respect or love and now, he doesn't deserve another second of my mental space given the 10 years I have already wasted on him. He was a mistake and now I need to move on... but I find it difficult to move on when I feel wronged by the DA's office and this court.Honestly I feel fooled not just by a convicted criminal, aggressor, wife beater, batterer, that I unfortunately married - the worst mistake of my life but by this court as well. With all due respect to the system... I stand FOOLED, disgraced and ridiculed as a victim.
A small rally in support of victims of domestic violence was held outside the courthouse following Gattani's sentencing.
There are numerous 24-hour, multi-lingual, anonymous and safe support organizations for victims of domestic violence in the Bay Area and beyond. Here are some resources.
Related: 'G' Chahal, The Worst Bad Man In Silicon Valley, Charged With Abusing Another Girlfriend