Fauja Singh case: Fauja Singh or the ‘Turbaned Tornado,‘ was hit by a moving car in Jalandhar on Monday, July 14. The Punjab Police arrested Amritpal Singh Dhillon (26), a resident of Dasupur in Kartarpur, and seized his SUV, which ran over Singh.
Dhillon was going from Bhogpur to Kishahgarh on Monday when he hit Singh (114) in his native Bias village in Punjab’s Jalandhar district. The marathon runner succumbed to injuries on Monday evening. According to villagers, Singh was tossed 5-7 feet in the air after being hit by the vehicle.
After the incident, an FIR was registered against the driver under sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.
Punjab’s SSP Harvindar Singh Virk revealed the details of the accident. He said that around 3 PM, “, Sardar Fauja Singh went out for a walk on the road…There, on the main road between Jalandhar and Pathankot, an unknown vehicle hit him. He was admitted to Shrimant Hospital, Jalandhar. He died there due to injuries at around 7 in the evening…”
#WATCH | Jalandhar, Punjab | SSP Rural Harvinder Singh Virk says, "Sardar Fauja Singh was a British marathon runner, whose age was about 114 years. His native village is Beas. It falls in the Jalandhar Rural District, and its police station is Adampur. Yesterday afternoon, around… pic.twitter.com/isByC0oEMW
— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2025
A police official on Tuesday evening said the vehicle, which fatally hit Fauja Singh, has been identified and its driver would be arrested soon.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar Rural, Harvinder Singh, told PTI on Tuesday that they identified the vehicle, a Punjab-registered Toyota Fortuner, from CCTV footage and with fragments of the vehicle’s headlight recovered from the accident spot.]
Who is Amritpal Singh?
Officials have shared that Amritpal Singh Dhillon hails from Kartarpur sub-division. As per media reports, he returned from Canada just over a week ago and recently purchased the white Toyota Fortuner. 26, he was caught from his village and admitted to the crime after he revealed that he had just sold his phone, reported PTI. According to India Today, Dhillon was unaware that who he hit was Fauja Singh and only learnt later what had happened.
A tribute to Fauja
Leaders cutting across party lines condoled the marathoner’s death, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on fitness.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said the veteran marathon runner made the Sikh community around the world proud with his long-distance running. His Haryana counterpart, Nayab Singh Saini, said the news of Fauja Singh’s demise was deeply saddening.
The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday paid tributes to Fauja Singh. On the concluding day of the special session of the assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ravjot Singh moved a proposal for paying tributes to Singh in the House.
The ‘Sikh Superman’
Born in 1911 into a family of farmers, Fauja Singh was the youngest of four siblings. He became the first centenarian to complete a marathon, earning multiple records while participating in international events.
He went on to run marathons, including the famed ones in London, New York and Hong Kong, and inspire awe for clocking some brilliant timings for a 90-plus man born with weak legs. The most memorable of his runs was in 2011 when he turned 100. The invitational meet in Toronto was named in his honour, and he broke several world records for his age group. The widely-admired 114-year-old’s career as a marathon runner began when he was 89 and propelled him to the status of a global icon, gaining the nickname “Turbaned Tornado” for his endurance and athleticism.
(with agency inputs)