Grieving dad calls on Jacinta Allan to bring fugitive Puneet Puneet to justice

The father of a young man killed by fugitive hit-run driver Puneet Puneet 16 years ago is pleading for Premier Jacinta Allan to finally make his son’s killer face justice.

The family of a young man killed by hit-run driver Puneet Puneet 16 years ago wants Premier Jacinta Allan to push for the fugitive to finally face justice here.

As the Premier flies out on Sunday for a four-day trip to India, Peter Hofstee says he wants the Premier to talk to Indian authorities about extraditing him to face court in Melbourne.

“I’d love her to make an issue of it because nothing is happening,’’ Mr Hofstee said.

Puneet has avoided any punishment for speeding at 150km/h down City Road in Southbank and mowing down 19-year-old Queensland nursing student Dean Hofstee in September 2008.

The young volunteer surf lifesaver had been in Melbourne to play water polo in the Australian University Games.

Puneet Puneet remains a free man.

Puneet fled the scene, leaving the beloved young student with fatal injuries and his mate Clancy Coker with serious head and leg injuries.

Puneet was later charged by police and pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death.

But after being granted bail he fled to India on another man’s passport before he could be sentenced.

Now, as Ms Allan makes her first international trip as Premier, Mr Hofstee says she must raise the issue with Indian political leaders.

“They should be made aware of it,” Mr Hofstee said.

Victorian creative industries minister Colin Brooks on Sunday would not confirm if discussions between the Premier and Indian authorities were taking place but said it was the government’s expectation Puneet would be brought back to Australia to face justice.

“Extradition is a federal matter and we’ll leave it to our federal colleagues to work through the extradition process,” he said.

Mr Hoftsee said his son, who should now be aged in his mid-30s, had never been forgotten despite the number of years which have passed.

Puneet Puneet on his way to court in Dehli. Picture: Supplied

He said he tried not to dwell on where his son would be and what he would be doing now.

A water polo day at his university has been named in his honour and there are commemorations by his old rugby and surf lifesaving clubs.

He said Dean’s three siblings have made it through the awful experience to become successful adults.

“They’ve managed to get on with their lives,” he said.

Dean’s father Peter said he hoped Ms Allan would raise the case as Puneet seemed to be constantly able to defer consequences for what he had done.

Puneet was arrested on his wedding day in India in 2013 but more than a decade on, he is still free.

The aftermath of the horrific crash in 2008. Picture: Jon Hargest

Since his 2013 arrest, there have been constant obstacles in bringing Puneet to justice.

He has argued that he is not safe in Australia because of racism, that he is gravely ill and, in the latest delay, his wife has brought domestic violence claims.

In 2018, Puneet begged the Hofstee family for forgiveness and reportedly said it would be unsafe to return to Australia because it was inherently racist.

“Whatever happened was unfortunate and not deliberate. I request the families to pardon me for the thing which wasn’t deliberate,” he said.

19-year-old Dean Hofstee was mowed down on City Road in 2008.

His extradition was ordered by an Indian court in 2021 but domestic violence charges laid against him in that country must be dealt with before he can be removed.

Mr Hofstee, a lawyer, said he understood the difficulties of such matters and that meant he had been restrained over the years with public comments.

“I think I’ve been too patient, at times,” he said.

Puneet was a 19-year-old learner driver when he crashed his V8 Holden Commodore into Mr Hofstee and Mr Coker, who were university mates from Queensland.

He was travelling at 150km/h, having earlier downed four whisky and colas at a party in Nunawading.

Puneet’s next court date is December 2.

It comes as the investigation into the murder of Indian-born Point Cook woman Chaithanya “Swetha” Madhagani is ongoing.

Her husband, Ashok Raj Varikuppala, fled to India with their four-year-old son in the period after her body was found in an abandoned wheelie bin at Buckley, near Geelong, on March 9.

The homicide squad is preparing a brief-of-evidence which will be handed to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus so he can approach Indian authorities about an extradition order.

Originally published as Grieving dad calls on Jacinta Allan to bring fugitive Puneet Puneet to justice