Man wanted in a hit-and-run case in Australia arrested

A 24-year-old man, who fled Australia around four years ago after being convicted in a hit-and-run case, has been arrested from Rajpura area of Patiala district, police said today.
Puneet was arrested on Friday and was sent to judicial custody after he was produced before a judicial magistrate on Saturday, Banur police station SHO Bikramjit Singh Brar said.
"We have informed the Australian High Commission about the arrest," said Brar.
Puneet fled Australia in 2009 after he was convicted in a hit-and-run case in Southbank, in which a 19-year-old youth was killed and his friend injured.
He fled the country without serving the sentence on a passport he obtained from a friend who was later jailed for "perverting the course of justice".

Australian police informed their Indian counterpart about the convict and, last year, announced a bounty of 100,000 US dollars for information that could lead to Puneet's arrest.
Indian police too published advertisements in local newspapers urging people to come forward with information on his whereabouts.
The 24-year-old, now lodged at the Patiala central jail, will face an extradition hearing.