Man who choked his wife after crash gets two years jail

HE choked his wife until one of her eyes popped in an attack that caused a car crash. But a magistrate says the woman wasn’t the only one to suffer.

A MAGISTRATE has described the actions of a man who choked his wife until one of her eyes popped after crashing his car on the M1 motorway as “bizarre”.

Father-of-two Dipak Adhikari was sentenced to two years jail in Gosford Local Court on Wednesday — the maximum penalty possible for a single offence in that jurisdiction — after a last minute plea change.

Adhikari, of Hornsby Heights, was driving southbound on the freeway shortly before midday on March 27 when he clipped the side of a roadwork truck parked in the breakdown lane about 250m south of the Kariong interchange at Somersby.

The 46-year-old’s Nissan Xtrail ricocheted off the truck and veered 160m across three lanes of traffic before coming to a stop in bushes in the median strip.

The M1 crash scene after the assault. Picture: Channel 7 News

The vehicle’s airbags deployed and Adhikari got out of the driver’s side and went around to the passenger’s side to get his wife of 16 years Pampa Dhital out.

Her door was too damaged to open so he went back around to the driver’s side and dragged her out onto the ground before placing both hands around her neck.

A truck driver who pulled over to render assistance saw Adhikari squeezing his wife’s throat so tight she momentarily lost consciousness.

He grabbed Adhikari and had to prise his fingers from her throat as her lips started turning blue.

She was later taken to hospital with bruising to her neck and a petechial haemorrhage was observed in her left eye.

Doctors told police the burst blood vessel was consistent with asphyxia caused by something externally obstructing her airways.

The M1 crash scene after crash. Picture: Channel 7 News

Adhikari, who owned a pizza shop on Sydney’s lower North Shore, was charged with intentionally choking his wife with recklessness and negligent driving.

He initially pleaded not guilty and was expected to face a hearing on Wednesday but changed his pleas to guilty.

Magistrate David Day said there were no explanations other than there had been some “tensions” and he was “under lots of stress and had not slept for days”.

Adhikari later told police during a recorded incident he could not remember any form of assault taking place.

“The lack of provocation is bizarre, the lack of memory is also quite bizarre,” he said.

Happier times Dipak Adhikari and Pampha Dhital before the assault. Picture: Facebook

Mr Day said the sudden, unexplained attack had “profound” effect on the couple’s family, their wider family, his business and to a degree it “affects the pizza eaters of the lower North Shore”.

Mr Day told the court the assault fell in the “mid range” of objective seriousness and therefore warranted a custodial sentence of about five years.

However he said the statutory maximum penalty he could impose for a single offence in the Local Court was two years, which he sentenced Adhikari to without parole.

He was also served with a two-year apprehended violence order.

The negligent driving charge was withdrawn and dismissed.

Originally published as Man who choked his wife after crash gets two years jail