Vehicle that fatally hit marathoner Fauja Singh identified: Punjab cops

Chandigarh: The vehicle which fatally hit the world's oldest marathoner Fauja Singh in Punjab's Jalandhar district has been identified and the driver of the vehicle, an SUV, will be arrested soon, police said on Tuesday.

Fauja Singh was 114, and the ironies could not be more tragic for the legend who got into stride just when others were slowing down.

The marathon runner succumbed to injuries on Monday evening after he was hit by the vehicle in his native Bias village while walking down the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway.

"We have identified the vehicle from a CCTV footage. It is a Punjab registered Toyota Fortuner. From the accident spot, we recovered some fragments of the vehicle's headlight. After that we tracked down the vehicle.

"In the CCTV footage, the part of vehicle, which was found at the accident spot, was missing. It was a left side's headlight fragment. The registration number was readable which we tracked. It's a vehicle whose owners have changed more than once (probably resale)," Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar Rural, Harvinder Singh said.

"Now, our teams will nab the driver soon and recover the vehicle," the SSP said.

He also said that the CCTV footage over a long stretch of the highway was scanned and a time lag was also noticed when the SUV should have reached from one spot to the other.

After the incident, an FIR was registered against unknown driver under BNS sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), police said.

Earlier in the day, some villagers said that it was probably an SUV which struck Fauja Singh in a hit-and-run incident. He was tossed 5-7 feet in the air, they claimed.

Meanwhile, 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 the topic of fitness.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said that the veteran marathon runner made the Sikh community around the world proud with his long distance running.

"Very sad to hear about the death of famous Punjabi Sikh runner Fauja Singh ji. The world's oldest runner Fauja Singh ji, who made the Sikh community proud in the world with his long distance running, will always live in our hearts and memories. Heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones," Mann posted on X.

Residents of Bias village also mourned the marathoner's death.