Runaway hit-run driver Puneet Puneet tried to keep low profile before disappearance
A hit-and-run driver who fled to India after he killed a Queensland student in a drunken crash still remains at large after missing his scheduled extradition to Melbourne. Now police have concerns about some of his peculiar behaviour right before he vanished.
Police & Courts
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Fugitive hit-run killer Puneet Puneet was working in India under a fake name and had amassed tens of thousands of dollars in loans when he sold his car and vanished ahead of his extradition to Melbourne.
Police are again searching for Puneet whose phone has been switched off since disappearing last Tuesday.
Relatives told the Herald Sun he vanished without warning and has no intention of facing justice in Australia.
He fled the country in 2009 while on bail for killing Dean Hofstee in a drunken crash in Melbourne.
He failed to show in court on Monday for one of the final hearings before his extradition.
A close relative revealed Puneet sold his car for $8000 the day he disappeared and his latest vanishing act could be another move to avoid jail in Australia.
Puneet has worked at a car insurance company under a false name for the past two years.
He told family he was going to work when he left home in his car the morning of June 16.
His mother called him about 11am but his phone was switched off, a family source said.
“She kept calling again and again for two hours, but Puneet’s number continued switched off,” said the relative.
“The family then called his office and found that he didn’t turn up for his job that day.”
Puneet’s family grew more concerned so contacted other relatives who also had not heard from him.
His father Naresh Kumar waited until the next day to report him missing to police.
“We haven’t heard anything from Puneet yet. His phone is still switched off,” said the source.
He has unpaid loans totalling more than $32,000 and owes $2000 in credit card debt, according to the relative.
His father last week told police Puneet was “ mentally depressed” and disappeared with the $8000 cash he got for his car.
He added his son had a mistress who ought to be questioned over his whereabouts.
Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said Puneet must return to Victoria to face the consequences of his actions.
“We won’t rest until justice is served,” she said.
Puneet pleaded guilty to culpable driving over the drunken crash that claimed the life of Mr Hofstee, then aged 19, on City Rd in Southbank on October 1, 2008.
He was on bail awaiting sentencing in Melbourne when he fled to India using a friend’s passport in 2009.
He was arrested in India on his wedding day in 2013 and has bitterly fought extradition ever since.
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