Delhi High Court
By SAT News Desk
NEW DELHI & MELBOURNE, 3 September 2021: Puneet Puneet, who was arrested on September 2 in New Delhi after being on bail will reappear in court on 20 September. He is facing extradition to Australia from India, where he fled to India on a fake passport after he killed a 19-year-old Queensland student, Dean Hofstee, at Southbank in October 2008.
ANI adds: “The Delhi High Court has put an interim stay till September 20 on a trial court order recommending the extradition of Puneet, an accused in a hit-and-run incident that took place in Australia in 2008.
Puneet was arrested by Patalia Police after four years on the run, at the request of the Australian authorities, after his Melbourne escape in 2009. He had pleaded guilty and was on bail at the time he escaped.
A police statement says, “Victoria Police is aware Puneet Puneet was remanded into custody in India on 2 September. The matter has been adjourned and it is expected he will re-appear on Monday 20 September.”
“While the extradition process continues, Victoria Police will not make any further comment,” the statement says.
Puneet who was charged with culpable driving was given strict bail conditions and was forced to surrender his Indian passport – but he fled to India on June 12, 2009, before being sentenced, using friend Sukhcharanjit Singh’s passport.
Victoria Police had announced a reward of A$ 100,000 for information leading to the location, arrest, and subsequent return to Victoria of Puneet Puneet.
An ABC report says, ” Earlier, a Victorian government spokesman said the state was working closely with the federal government to make sure Puneet was extradited back to Victoria as quickly as possible.
“Mr. Puneet needs to return to Victoria to face the consequences of his actions, and we won’t rest until justice is served,” a state government spokesman said.
