Dhillon is a resident of Dasupur village in Kartarpur, Jalandhar
Punjab Police Arrest NRI in Connection with Death of Legendary Marathoner Fauja Singh
Jalandhar, July 16 – Punjab Police has arrested a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) in connection with the accident that led to the death of legendary marathoner Fauja Singh.
The accused has been identified as Amritpal Singh Dhillon, who was arrested nearly 30 hours after the tragic incident involving the 114-year-old athlete. The Fortuner SUV involved in the hit-and-run case has also been recovered.
According to a report by India Today, Dhillon is a resident of Dasupur village in Kartarpur, Jalandhar, and was taken into custody late Tuesday night. He is currently being interrogated at the Bhogpur police station.
He is expected to be produced before the court today and is likely to be taken on police remand. During preliminary questioning, Dhillon confessed to his involvement in the accident, according to the India Today report.
He stated that the accident occurred near Beas Pind while he was returning from Mukerian after selling his phone. Dhillon claimed he was unaware that the victim was Fauja Singh and only learned about it later through news reports.
Earlier, police had compiled a list of suspect vehicles linked to the case. On Tuesday night, authorities traced the Fortuner SUV involved in the accident. As per the initial investigation, the vehicle was registered in the name of Varinder Singh, a resident of Kapurthala.
Jalandhar police reached Kapurthala to question Varinder Singh, who revealed that he had sold the vehicle two years ago to Dhillon, who had recently returned from Canada.
According to the report, citing police sources, Dhillon has three sisters, and his mother lives in Canada.
Fauja Singh’s younger son, Harvinder Singh, said that the family had not been officially informed by the police about the arrest and only came to know through social media. He also questioned the moral responsibility of the accused, asking why the driver chose to flee instead of helping the injured runner and taking him to the hospital.
Fauja Singh, the British Sikh marathon runner of Indian origin, tragically passed away at the age of 114 after being hit by a car in his native village Beas Pind, Punjab.
Singh’s remarkable life has been chronicled in the biography “Turbaned Tornado” by Khushwant Singh, released on July 7, 2011. A biopic titled “Fauja”, directed by Omung Kumar B, was also announced in 2021.
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