Who is Amritpal Singh Dhillon, Canadian NRI arrested in Fauja Singh accident case

Once just another young NRI visiting home, Amritpal Singh Dhillon, 26, now finds himself at the centre of a fatal hit-and-run case that killed legendary marathoner Fauja Singh.

Arrested Tuesday night, the Canadian NRI is accused of striking the 114-year-old athlete while driving his SUV through Punjab’s Jalandhar district.

The marathon runner was walking down the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway when the incident occurred, and he succumbed to injuries on Monday evening.

What we know so far

Amritpal Singh Dhillon hails from Dasupur village in Kartarpur, Jalandhar district. His family lives abroad and he had returned to his native place recently.

The fatal accident occurred on Monday, when Dhillon was driving from Bhogpur to Kishangarh. He allegedly struck Fauja Singh on the highway in the veteran runner's native village of Bias.

On the day of the accident, Dhillon had sold out his phone in Bhogpur and was heading home in the speeding SUV.

Dhillon has reportedly confessed to the incident, and his Toyota Fortuner SUV has been seized as part of the investigation.

According to India Today, Dhillon has claimed he was unaware at the time that the victim was Fauja Singh and that he only learnt about the legendary marathoner’s death through media reports.

According to the report, Dhillon had purchased the white Toyota Fortuner (PB 20C 7100) from a Kapurthala resident two years ago.

The Punjab-20 is the RTO code for Balachaur in Nawanshahr, but the owner was found to be a resident of the Kartarpur area.

SSP Jalandhar Rural Harvinder Singh Virk said that the vehicle's owners have changed more than once (probably resale).

Vehicle involved in the case was identified from its missing parts, including headlight and a part of the bumper, that had fallen off at the spot after the accident.