The driver of the SUV which ran over and killed Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathoner, has been arrested.
The accused has been identified as Amritpal Singh Dhillon (26), a resident of Dasupur in Kartarpur, PTI reported. His vehicle has also been seized.
Dhillon was travelling from Bhogpur to Kishahgarh on Monday when he hit Fauja, in his native Bias village in Punjab's Jalandhar district.
The marathon runner succumbed to injuries on Monday evening.
According to villagers, Fauja was tossed 5-7 feet in the air after being hit by the vehicle, PTI reported. Fauja was 114. He stooped running in 2013, when he turned 102. Fauja Singh was 100 when he became ‘the oldest man to run a marathon’ – clocking 8 hours and 11 minutes at the Toronto Marathon in 2011, The Indian Express reported.
Khushwant Singh, a former state information commissioner of Punjab, had written Fauja’s biography, 'The Turbaned Tornado'.
"My Turbaned Tornado is no more. It is with great sadness that I share the passing of my most revered S. Fauja Singh. He was struck by an unidentified vehicle around 3:30 pm today in his village, Bias, while crossing the road. Rest in peace, my dear Fauja," Khushwant posted on X.
An FIR was registered against the driver after the incident under sections 281, rash driving or riding on a public way, and 105, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
