A CANADA-based man accused of fatally hitting 114-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh with an SUV in Punjab has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Officials said the accused had returned to India just three weeks ago.
Jalandhar rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh told a press conference that 26-year-old Amritpal Singh Dhillon was arrested on Tuesday night and his vehicle was seized. He said police treated the case as a challenge and solved it within 30 hours.
Later, Dhillon was produced before a court in Jalandhar and remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.
Dhillon, a native of Kartarpur, had gone to Canada on a tourist visa and later received a work permit valid till 2027. He returned to India late last month and was arrested from his home in Kartarpur.
During preliminary questioning, Dhillon told police he was in a hurry and driving at high speed when the accident happened. “At that time, he was not aware of the identity of the man hit by the car. He told us that he got scared (after the accident) and that is why he did not stop his vehicle there,” the SSP said.
He added that Dhillon was headed towards Jalandhar but returned home through nearby villages after the accident. Dhillon also said he had one of the car’s tyres changed that same day.
The SSP said it was Dhillon’s responsibility to stop the vehicle and take Fauja Singh to a hospital.
Fauja Singh was walking down the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway in his native village Bias when he was hit while crossing the road. He succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening. Villagers said the impact threw Singh five to seven feet into the air.
His son Harvinder Singh told reporters in Jalandhar on Wednesday that Dhillon could have taken his father to hospital immediately. “Maybe that could have saved his life. Had he not fled, we were anyway not going to have taken any action against him (the erring driver),” he said.
The SSP said Dhillon had no previous criminal record. He added that it was possible Dhillon was not accustomed to Indian driving conditions. “It is possible that since in India there is left-hand drive (rule) while in Canada it is right-hand, one could not get a grip on the driving (conditions) here,” he said. Dhillon was alone in the car at the time of the incident.
The police said Dhillon is on a work permit in Canada and works as a labourer. His mother and three sisters also live in Canada.
The vehicle, a Punjab-registered Toyota Fortuner, was identified using CCTV footage, headlight fragments and other parts recovered from the spot. “In one of the CCTV footage, the registration number of the vehicle was readable, and we tracked that. The vehicle's owners changed more than once (due to resale),” SSP Singh said.
On the timeline of events, the SSP said Fauja Singh had gone out for a walk after lunch. “Around 3.08 pm, when he reached the main road, the vehicle hit him. Some passers-by and some of his family members took him to a hospital in Jalandhar, where he succumbed to injuries.”
Expressing grief over Singh’s death, the SSP said he should not have died in this manner. “Fauja Singh earned his name worldwide, and we all are very proud of it.”
Political leaders across parties expressed condolences. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Singh was extraordinary for his unique persona and for inspiring Indian youth on fitness.
Fauja Singh began his marathon career at 89 and gained worldwide recognition for his endurance and achievements, earning the nickname 'Turbaned Tornado'. Born in 1911 into a farming family, he was the youngest of four siblings and became the first centenarian to complete a marathon. He ran in events in London, New York, and Hong Kong.
In 2011, at the age of 100, he took part in an invitational meet in Toronto named in his honour, where he broke several world records for his age group. Singh returned to India around three years ago after spending much of his running career in Britain. Last year, he joined Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in a walkathon to raise awareness against drug abuse.
(With inputs from agencies)
