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ALMOST 10 years have passed since learner driver Puneet Puneet ploughed into two Gold Coast university students in Melbourne, killing Dean Hofstee and seriously injuring his mate, Clancy Coker.

The wheels of justice turn slowly, especially in India where Puneet fled on a friend’s passport to escape sentencing after pleading guilty to culpable driving, but this sorry matter has gone on for far too long. Hofstee’s family has suffered not only the tragedy of death, but the insult of watching the killer hide from justice and then, when arrested by Indian authorities, the insults of his excuses of having a grave illness and that “racist Australians’’ will treat him like a terrorist.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he will take this to the top when he visits India soon. The Gold Coast applauds his bid to resolve the matter. Former Queensland premier Anna Bligh tried in 2009 when she went to India on Commonwealth Games business. Her pleas for action on Puneet fell on deaf ears. We hope Mr Andrews is up to the task. The Hofstee and Coker families deserve closure.