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.
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 that the accused came to India late last month.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, at around 3.08 pm on the Jalandhar-Pathankot Highway just outside Beas village, where an unidentified vehicle hit Singh while he was walking toward his farmland and dhaba, located just across the road. The dhaba was started over 30 years ago for his son, Kuldeep Singh, who died after an iron sheet fell on him during some construction work.
Addressing the media on Wednesday morning, Jalandhar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harvinder Singh Virk said, “As soon as we learned about the accident on Monday evening, we formed multiple teams and examined CCTV footage from various locations. Nearly 35 vehicles were found to have crossed the accident site around the time the incident occurred.”
“Eyewitnesses said that Fauja Singh’s body was thrown nearly 6-7 feet into the air upon impact. They could not clearly identify the vehicle but suspected it could have been either a Toyota Fortuner or an Innova. Our investigation led us to a Fortuner that matched the timeline, and broken parts of its left headlight recovered from the scene and shown to the mechanic, who said that these were the parts of an old model Fortuner and they matched the damage pattern,” the SSP added.
The vehicle’s registration number led police to Varinder Singh, a resident of Athouli village in Kapurthala. Upon questioning, Varinder revealed that he had sold the vehicle to Amritpal Singh Dhillon, an NRI who had returned from Canada. Police located Amritpal and, during interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the hit-and-run.
“Amritpal Singh Dhillon, 26, is currently on a work permit in Canada. He had initially gone there as a student and later received a work permit. He came to Punjab on June 23–24. Though he holds a valid driver’s license, but driving in Canada and India differs — especially in terms of road orientation, as Canada drives on the right and India on the left,” the SSP said.
“But even if the accident was unintentional, it was his legal and moral responsibility to stop and take the victim to a hospital. He failed to do so,” SSP Virk stated.
A case has been registered under Sections 281 and 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The police have also recovered the vehicle involved in the accident. The accused will be presented in court later on Wednesday.
Sources said that after the collision, Amritpal got scared and changed his route instead of continuing toward Jalandhar. His father had died long ago, while his mother and three sisters are settled in Canada, sources added.
Fauja Singh, who had turned 114 earlier this year, was rushed to the hospital but died after three hours of treatment.
Between 2000 and 2013, Fauja Singh completed nine full marathons. After losing his eldest daughter, Gurbaksh Kaur, his wife and one of his sons, Kuldeep, he went into deep depression. It was his son, Sukhwinder Singh, who took him to the UK — a move that changed his life. There, Fauja Singh began running and went on to become a celebrated international marathoner.
He is survived by his two sons and two daughters. His daughters and one of his sons are settled abroad with their families and his last rites will be held once they arrive.
Despite his age, Fauja Singh was independent. He performed all his daily activities and maintained a disciplined fitness routine, walking around three hours every day in and around his village and farmland. He was fond of pinnis (traditional energy-packed sweets), mangoes, and vegetables like bottle gourd (ghiya) and ridge gourd (tinda). His family and villagers remember him as a gentle, inspirational soul who never hurt anyone.
“He was a living legend. The world should have celebrated him, not lost him like this,” said his son Harvinder Singh.
