Fauja Singh hit-and-run case: NRI arrested from Punjab; vehicle seized

Jalandhar: The Punjab Police on Wednesday arrested the man allegedly responsible for the hit-and-run incident that led to the death of 114-year-old marathon legend Fauja Singh on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway.

The accused, Amritpal Singh Dhillon, a 26-year-old non-resident Indian (NRI) originally from Kartarpur in Jalandhar, was apprehended two days after the incident.

Dhillon, who resides in Canada with his family, had reportedly returned to India just a week ago.

Police officials confirmed that Dhillon was driving a Toyota Fortuner (registration number PB 20 C 7100) at the time of the accident. The vehicle has since been recovered. According to police, Dhillon confessed to the crime and said he was alone in the vehicle, travelling from Bhogpur to Kishangarh when the accident occurred.

Fauja Singh was crossing the road near his native village in Punjab when he was struck by Dhillon’s speeding vehicle. He suffered serious head injuries and later succumbed to them. The breakthrough in the case came after investigators traced the Fortuner using CCTV footage from nearby surveillance cameras. The police tracked Dhillon to his village, where he was taken into custody.

An FIR has been registered at the Adampur police station, and Dhillon has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A global icon of strength and willpower, Fauja Singh has inspired millions by running marathons past 100. He took up marathon running late in life and has reportedly completed over 100 marathons.

Born in the undivided Punjab at Beas Pind near Jalandhar on April 1, 1911, Fauja Singh started running as a means to overcome his grief after witnessing the death of his fifth son in a construction accident in 1994. (IANS)

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