Chandigarh | Police have arrested a Canada-based man who allegedly drove his SUV over Fauja Singh, killing the world's oldest marathoner. Officials said the accused had returned home in Punjab just three weeks ago.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jalandhar Rural, Harvinder Singh, told a press conference that Amritpal Singh Dhillon (26) was arrested on Tuesday night and his vehicle has also been seized.
Police took the case as a challenge and solved it within 30 hours, he said.
Dhillon, a native of Kartarpur, had gone to Canada on a tourist visa but got a work permit there, which is valid till 2027, the officer said, adding the accused came to India late last month.
He was nabbed from his Kartarpur home.
Replying to a question, the SSP said that during preliminary questioning, it has come to the fore that Dhillon was driving his SUV fast as he was in a hurry for some work, and the car hit Fauja Singh.
"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," said the SSP.
The police officer told reporters that Dhillon was going towards Jalandhar, but after the accident, he returned home by driving through villages.
The accused also told police that he had got one of the tyres of the car changed on the day of the incident.
The SSP, however, said it was Dhillon's responsibility to stop the vehicle at the time of the accident and should have taken Fauja Singh to a hospital.
Dhillon had allegedly hit Fauja Singh (114) in the veteran runner's native village of Bias in Punjab's Jalandhar district when he was walking down the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway and crossing it when the incident occurred.
Fauja Singh succumbed to injuries on Monday evening.
According to villagers, Singh was tossed five to seven feet in the air after being hit by the vehicle.
Fauja Singh's son Harvinder Singh told reporters in Jalandhar on Wednesday that Dhillon could have stopped his SUV and immediately rushed the marathoner to a hospital. "Maybe that could have saved his life. Had he not fled, we would not have taken any action against him (the erring driver)," he said.
To another question, the SSP said the accused did not have any criminal case registered against him. "It is possible that since Indian cars are left-hand drive while in Canada it is right-hand, one could not get a grip on the driving (conditions) here," he said, adding the accused was alone in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
"Dillion is in Canada on a work permit and works as a labourer. His three sisters and mother are in Canada," the SSP told reporters.
The police officer said the vehicle, a Punjab-registered Toyota Fortuner, was identified through CCTV footage and fragments of its headlight and other parts recovered from the accident 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 told the press conference.
In reply to the question about the timeline of events leading up to the accident, the police officer said Fauja Singh went out for a walk near his home, near the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway, after lunch.
"Around 3:08 pm, when he reached the main road, the vehicle hit him. Some passersby and some of his family members took him to a hospital in Jalandhar, where he succumbed to injuries." Expressing grief over the death of the centenarian marathoner, 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." Leaders cutting across party lines condoled the marathoner's death, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on fitness.
The widely-admired 114-year-old's career as a marathon runner began when he was 89 and propelled him to the status of a global icon, gaining the nickname "Turbaned Tornado" for his endurance and athleticism.
Born in 1911 into a family of farmers, Fauja Singh was the youngest of four siblings. He became the first centenarian to complete a marathon, earning multiple records while participating in international events.
He went on to run marathons, including the famed ones in London, New York and Hong Kong, and inspire awe for clocking some brilliant timings for a 90-plus man born with weak legs.
Among the most memorable of his runs was in 2011 when he turned 100. The invitational meet in Toronto was named in his honour, and he broke several world records for his age group.
The frail man, who weathered many personal storms with his resilience and "nonchalance", had spent a better part of his running career in Britain and returned to his roots just about three years ago after retiring.
Last year, Singh, in a symbolic gesture, joined Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in a walkathon to spread awareness against drug abuse.
