Canadian NRI Held in the Hit-and-Run of 114-Year-Old Marathoner Fauja Singh

New Delhi (India) July 16: The famous marathon runner Fauja Singh was attacked and killed. The Punjab Police have detained a 30-year-old Non-Resident Indian (NRI) for his involvement with the incident. 

Fortuner SUV Found

The Fortuner SUV that was involved in the event that killed the 114-year-old athlete was recovered. It was found within 30 hours after Amritpal Singh Dhillon's arrest.

Dhillon lives in Dasupur village in Kartarpur, Jalandhar. He was arrested late Tuesday evening. He is being questioned at the Bhogpur police station. Dhillon will probably be placed on police remand after his court appearance today.

After the incident, authorities reportedly created a list of suspected cars. Authorities discovered a Fortuner SUV late Tuesday night. 

The car was registered in the name of Varinder Singh. He is a Kapurthala resident.

Police teams from Jalandhar quickly travelled to Kapurthala to interrogate Varinder Singh. Varinder revealed under interrogation that he had sold the vehicle to Amritpal Singh Dhillon. Dhillon is an NRI who has just returned from Canada.

According to the police, Dhillon's mother lives in Canada. He has three sisters.

Harvinder Singh, the senior superintendent of police for Jalandhar Rural said that pieces of the headlight from a Toyota Fortuner had been found at the scene of the accident.

According to authorities, Dhillon drove through several villages to get to his hometown of Kartarpur after the incident. He avoided the Jalandhar city.

Dhillon Admits Guilt

Dhillon has apparently admitted his role during initial interrogation. He claimed that after selling his phone, he was on his way back from Mukerian when his car collided with an old person close to Bias.

Dhillon stated that he first found out about the marathoner's passing from news reports. He was not aware at the time that the victim was Fauja Singh.

The Turbaned Tornado 

Fauja Singh is often referred to as the "Turbaned Tornado." He passed away on Monday after being hit by an unidentified car. 

At the time of the incident, the marathon runner was on his way on the Jalandhar-Pathankot route. According to locals' eyewitnesses, Singh was struck by the car and tossed five to seven feet into the air.

Singh has set several records by competing in international races in London, New York, Toronto and Hong Kong. He became the first centenarian to finish a marathon.

Aadrika Tayal