Man involved in fatal crash says Australia is 'racist'

Man involved in fatal crash says Australia is 'racist'

A MAN who fled to India after killing a teenager while drink driving in Melbourne is reportedly fighting his extradition, again claiming Australia is racist.

Puneet Puneet had been on bail charged over the death of nursing student Dean Hofstee, but fled Australia using a fellow Indian’s passport in 2009. He was arrested four years later in India.

Puneet has made another plea in a New Delhi court not to return to Australia, putting up a witness who claimed to have been racially abused and mistreated while working in Australia, the Herald Sun reports.

“Australians are biased towards Indians so I request Indian authorities to take care of its nationals,” chef Jayant Dagore told the court.

The matter has been put over till September 5.

Puneet was a 19-year-old learner driver when he hit and killed Mr Hofstee, 19, and seriously injured Clancy Coker, 20, in Southbank in Melbourne on October 1, 2008.

Police estimated Puneet was driving at 148km/h — more than double the legal limit in the area. He also tested positive for alcohol.

For more on this report, visit the Herald Sun.