Family fight Puneet's extradition to Aust

Puneet Puneet was handcuffed and led away to Tihar jail as his family members vowed never to give up a fight against his extradition to Australia.

An Indian man who fled Australia after killing a teenager while drink driving has been sent back to prison as a New Delhi court again delayed his extradition hearing.

Puneet Puneet, 24, was handcuffed and led away to Tihar jail on Thursday amid emotional scenes at the Patiala House court complex, where his family members vowed never to give up a fight against his extradition.

Puneet's father said that he did not have faith in the justice system in Australia, where he claimed racism, particularly against Indians, was rampant.

"We only trust the Indian legal system, there is racism in Australia ... don't you know of so many racist attacks and how they look at Indians?" Naresh Kumar said outside the court.

The case was adjourned shortly after Puneet appeared in court when one of his lawyers failed to appear.

The case has been adjourned on three previous occasions.

Puneet, who only had a provisional driver's licence at the time of the crash, hit two students, aged 19 and 20, as they walked across a road in Melbourne in 2008. One of the students died at the scene.

Australian police estimated Puneet was driving at 148km/h - more than double the legal limit in the area. He also tested positive for alcohol.

Puneet had been charged with culpable driving and negligently causing serious injury, then bailed on strict conditions, including the surrender of his passport.

But he later fled using a fellow Indian's passport. Australian police offered a reward in 2012 for information leading to his arrest. After four years on the run from police in India, he was discovered in late November in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi.

The case will resume on March 19.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world