Punjab: Fauja Singh to be cremated on Sunday at Beas village

Fauja Singh, famously known as ‘Turbaned Tornado’ and ‘Sikh Superman’ suffered fatal head injuries on July 14 after a white Toyota Fortuner hit him while he was crossing a road in his village. He passed away later that day.

The cremation of world-renowned marathoner Fauja Singh, who died at the age of 114 after being hit by a vehicle, will be held on Sunday at his native village Beas in Jalandhar district.

A Moga-based sculpture’s Manjit Singh Gill making a statue of marathon runner Fauja Singh as a tribute to the centenarian athlete. The statue, made of glass fibre, will be hand over the statue to Fauja Singh’s family after his cremation on Sunday. (HT)

Fauja Singh, famously known as ‘Turbaned Tornado’ and ‘Sikh Superman’ suffered fatal head injuries on July 14 after a white Toyota Fortuner hit him while he was crossing a road in his village. He passed away later that day. Singh was the world’s oldest marathon runner and had become a global symbol of endurance and healthy aging.

The accused driver, Amritpal Singh (26), a Canada-based NRI from the nearby village of Dasupur, was arrested by police shortly after the incident.

Fauja’s younger son Harvinder Singh (61) confirmed that the cremation will be held as per his father’s wishes. “He always wanted his final rites to be performed in his native village,” he said. Family members from Canada and the UK have arrived and others are expected by Saturday, he added.

Harvinder said that the accused’s family had visited to offer condolences. “They said Amritpal panicked and fled instead of taking my father to the hospital. Even after realising whom he had hit, he stayed home until police tracked him down,” he added.

The family is yet to decide how to pursue the case, in consultation with Jalandhar police.