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Canada-based NRI held for Fauja Singh’s death in hit-and-run accident
Speeding SUV driver Amritpal Singh Dhillon told police he panicked after hitting victim and fled; learnt he was legendary marathon runner Fauja Singh through media later.
A 26-year-old Canada-based NRI, Amritpal Singh Dhillon, has been arrested in the hit-and-run case that led to the death of centenarian marathon runner Fauja Singh in Jalandhar on July 14, police said on Wednesday.
Dhillon, who originally belongs to Dasupur village in Jalandhar’s Kartarpur sub division, was arrested on Tuesday night after the police scanned CCTV footage and identified the vehicle, a white Toyota Fortuner (PB 20C 7100) that he was driving on Monday. The vehicle has also been impounded.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Jalandhar rural senior superintendent of police Harvinder Singh Virk said Dhillon has confessed that he was at the wheel when the accident occurred outside 114-year-old Fauja Singh’s native Beas village on the Jalandhar-Pathankot national highway on Monday afternoon.
SUV headlight pieces, CCTV footage helped cops
“Dhillon was arrested from his house in Kartarpur on Tuesday night. He had gone to Canada on a tourist visa three years ago and got a work permit that is valid till 2027. He got an international driving licence there and had come on a visit to India on June 23 for a few days. He was returning to his village from Bhogpur when the accident occurred,” the SSP said.
Dhillon told the police that he was driving at a high speed on the highway and failed to apply the brakes when Fauja Singh suddenly appeared in front of the SUV. Instead of stopping to assist the victim, he fled in panic and reached Dasupur village by taking an alternate route to avoid CCTV cameras on the highway.
“On the basis of broken fragments on the SUV’s left headlight and bumper, the police managed to zero in on the white Fortuner after scanning CCTV footage,” SSP Virk said.
The accused told the police that he learnt that the victim was the legendary marathon runner Fauja Singh through media channels on Monday evening.
The police have booked him under Section 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to his insensitive approach of fleeing besides Sections 281 (rash driving) and 125-A (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Adampur police station.
The police said the accused’s family, including three sisters and mother, are settled in Canada.
Accused should’ve helped instead of fleeing: Son
Fauja Singh’s son Harvinder Singh said the accused should not have run after hitting his father, instead he should have stopped and helped him by rushing him to a hospital.
“We are thankful that the police have arrested the accused. Accidents happen on highways. Had he (Dhillon) showed some generosity and provided assistance to my father, we would have thought of dropping police action against him as we have no personal rivalry with him,” Harvinder said after the arrest.
Popularly known as ‘Turbaned Tornado’ and ‘Sikh Superman’, Fauja Singh, the record-holder marathon runner, suffered head injuries after being hit by the SUV while crossing the road at his native Beas village in Jalandhar district on Monday.
CCTV footage has emerged where Fauja Singh can be seen walking on the link road from his house towards the Jalandhar-Pathankot national highway. He was heading towards the family-run dhaba named after his deceased son, Kuldeep Singh, on the other side of the road. The mishap occurred when he was crossing the road.
Last rites after relatives arrive
The last rites will be performed on the arrival of his three daughters from the UK and son from Canada.
The record-holder marathon runner, who was the youngest among four siblings, was born on April 1, 1911, in Beas village. At the age of 81, Fauja Singh moved to East London in 1992 after the death of his wife, Gian Kaur. He took to running after the death of his fifth son, Kuldeep Singh, in August 1994 to overcome the grief. He often said that running is the best exercise to deal with emotional pain resulting from personal losses.
Fauja Singh stunned the world by shattering several records as a marathon runner in multiple age brackets. Since making his debut at the London Marathon in 2000 at the age of 89, Singh completed it six more times and also finished marathons in Toronto and New York, among other cities.
