Chandigarh, Nov 30 (IANS) An Indian youth, who was on the run for over four years after being involved in a hit-and-run accident in Australia, has been arrested by Punjab Police in neighbouring Haryana’s Panipat town, a police officer said Saturday.
A police officer said that Puneet, for whom both the Punjab and Haryana Police forces were looking for in the last four years and carried a reward of Australian $100,000 (about Rs 56.5 lakh), was arrested from Panipat Friday following a tip-off from Interpol.
A police team from Punjab’s Rajpura town, 45 km from here, raided the place where Puneet had gone to meet a friend and arrested him.
“We arrested him Friday from Panipat where he had come to meet a friend. He was produced in court. We have informed the Australian High Commission,” said Vikramjit Singh Brar, station house officer (SHO) of Banur police station.
Puneet, now 24, had fled Australia using the passport of another youth and was trying to evade arrest. The Australian authorities had announced a reward for anyone giving his whereabouts.
He had been charged in Australia for killing a 19-year-old nursing student, Dean Hofstee, on Southbank area of Melbourne city Oct 1, 2008. The victim’s friend, Clancy Coker, was critically injured in the accident. Both were walking along the road when the over-speeding car hit them. Hofstee died instantly.
Police claimed that Puneet was driving his car at a speed of 150-km per hour when he hit the victims. He escaped from the accident spot but was caught later. Police found that he was heavily drunk at the time of the accident.
Puneet, who was 20 years old at the time of the accident, was facing trial for the death and injury caused by him when he fled from Australia by using the passport of another Indian youth, Sukhcharanjit Singh, in June 2009 while out on bail. He was likely to be sentenced by the court in Australia when he fled the country.