Puneet Puneet drinks poison in India

FUGITIVE hit-run killer ­Puneet Puneet has landed in hospital after he drank a bottle of poisonous insecticide.

Puneet Puneet, SUNDAY HERALD SUN. Puneet Puneet arrives under police escort at the Judicial Court Complex in Rajpura surrounded by local media.

FUGITIVE hit-run killer ­Puneet Puneet has landed in hospital after he drank a bottle of poisonous insecticide.

The latest drama was revealed in an Indian court where Puneet, who fled Australia nine years ago after a fatal car accident in Melbourne, is fighting extradition.

The judge last night questioned why Puneet was not at the hearing, to which his lawyer told the court he was “not good, he has some mental issue as well”.

“Yesterday (Thursday), he consumed poison and was rushed to hospital immediately,” Puneet’s lead counsel Kanhaiya Kumar Singhal said.

“His condition is now ­stable,” he added. Puneet was scheduled to appear before New Delhi’s ­Patiala House Court where he is fighting his extradition to Australia.

PUNEET PUNEET HIT-RUN DRIVER BEGS FOR PARDON

COWARDLY KILLER PUNEET PUNEET’S PATHETIC EXCUSE TO ESCAPE EXTRADITION TO AUSTRALIA

Learner driver Puneet Puneet's car hit and killed Dean Hofstee and seriously injured Clancy Coker on City Rd in Southbank. Picture: Jon Hargest

Puneet, then 19, was drunk and speeding along City Rd in Southbank on October 1, 2008, when he killed Queensland student Dean Hofstee, 19, and seriously injured Clancy Coker, 20. He pleaded guilty to culpable driving, but while on bail in 2009 used a friend’s passport to flee.

“Yesterday morning, Puneet consumed a bottle of Baygon,” Mr Singhal told the Herald Sun outside the court.

“He was spotted by his wife and was immediately rushed to local hospital, where his ­stomach was washed and his life saved. He was discharged from the hospital today.

“Puneet is fed up of the case and is not well. He is tired of all these court cases and the daily medi-care. This might have pushed him to take this extreme step.”

The court heard Union of India lawyers, representing Australia in the case, express cynicism about the “ambiguous” medical condition that Puneet has continually claimed to suffer from in his bid to fight extradition.

The case will continue on February 26.