A man charged with the hit-run death of Gold Coast man Dean Hofstee in Melbourne 14 years ago has been granted bail by a court in India despite concerns he is a flight risk.
Puneet Puneet fled to India in 2009 shortly after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death and negligent driving.
Puneet recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.165 was estimated to have been driving at 150 km/h at the time of the crash in Southbank in October 2008.
He left Australia on a friend’s passport while awaiting sentencing.
Puneet was arrested in India in 2013 and has been fighting extradition to Australia ever since.
He has been in custody since September last year.
Puneet has previously claimed he would not be safe if forced to return to Australia because of racism.
It’s been confirmed the 33-year-old was granted bail last week in order to care for his sick mother who is suffering from a lung disease.
He’s been ordered to pay 20,000 rupees surety and surrender his passport.
He will return to court on October 17.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the government remains committed to securing Puneet’s extradition.
“Indian authorities are responsible for pursuing Australia’s extradition request through the Indian courts and the Australian government is grateful to Indian authorities for their ongoing assistance in progressing this request,” the spokesman said.
