'Turbaned Tornado' Fauja Singh cremated with state honours, PM Modi sends words of praise

Last rites of veteran marathon runner Fauja Singh were performed with state honours at the cremation ground of his native Beas village in Jalandhar district.

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Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Minister Mohinder Bhagat were among those who gathered to pay respects to the departed soul. Fauja Singh's son Harvinder Singh lit the funeral pyre.

Earlier, Fauja Singh's body was kept in a glass casket at his house with his photograph beside it. The family expressed pride in the achievements of its centenarian loved one, for whom it received a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The letter states, "That he (Fauja Singh) took up long-distance running at a very advanced age speaks volumes of not only his physical fitness, but more importantly, his mental strength and resilience."

Thereafter, a long procession was seen taking the body to the cremation ground. According to his family, Singh had expressed a wish for his final rites to be conducted in his native village.

Chief Minister Mann later said they would rename the village school after Fauja Singh and a statue in his honour would be erected at the sports college in Jalandhar.

Marathon runner Fauja Singh died in a road accident in Jalandhar district. He was 114. He was hit by an unidentified vehicle around 3.30 pm while he was crossing the road at his native Beas village near Adampur.

His family said he was out for a walk on the national highway near his house when he was hit by the vehicle. The vehicle owner sped off after hitting him. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Considered the oldest marathon runner, Fauja Singh started running at the age of 89 when his wife and son died in an accident. He took to running to fight loneliness and depression. He eventually ran in 18 marathons starting in London in 2000. After his last three marathons -- Toronto in 2011, London in 2012 and Hong Kong in 2013 — he retired.