A man behind the hit-and-run of 114-year-old marathon runner Fauja Singh on the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway has been arrested, said Punjab Police on Wednesday, July 16. The arrested accused driver, identified as a non-resident Indian (NRI), is Amritpal Singh Dhillon. Dhillon was arrested two days after the accident, which killed Fauja Singh, popularly known as 'Turbaned Tornado', who suffered head injuries. After the incident, the Punjab Police reviewed CCTV footage of the surrounding areas, which showed that Singh was crossing the road at his native village near Jalandhar. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died during the treatment.
Also Read | Centenarian marathon runner Fauja Singh dies in a road accident in Punjab.
The police have also seized a Toyota Fortuner, which was allegedly involved in the hit-and-run incident on Monday. The vehicle is registered in Punjab. Dhillon, originally from Kartarpur in Jalandhar, lived with his family in Canada.
Multiple police teams searched for Dhillon after his car was recognised in the CCTV footage. The number plate revealed that the vehicle was registered in the name of Varinder Singh, a resident of Kapurthala. The police investigated after interrogating Varinder, who said he had sold his car to the accused.
Dhillon was arrested in his village. He visited India last week with his family. He has admitted to the crime and said he was returning home after selling his mobile phone, according to sources who told NDTV. The accused driver, Dhillon, said that after the accident, he did not know that the victim was Fauja Singh, and came to know about him through the news.