Kin of arrested man meet Fauja’s family

JALANDHAR: Relatives of Amritpal Singh Dhillon, who has been arrested for the hit-and-run that killed iconic marathoner Fauja Singh, visited the bereaved family in Beas Pind village on Thursday afternoon to condole his death.Many of them knew the 114-year-old legend personally and it was a massive shock to them when they not only learnt of his death in an accident but also that one of their own was allegedly responsible for it. Amritpal, 26, who works in Canada, was arrested from his home in Dasupur late Tuesday night.Dasupur is barely 3km from Beas Pind and everyone knows Fauja in these parts, as do lakhs around the globe. According to police, Amritpal told them after his arrest that he didn’t know the man he hit on Jalandhar-Pathankot NH Monday afternoon was the world’s oldest marathoner.

He told the police he felt guilty when he learnt from news reports that Fauja had died.However, Amritpal made no attempt to take responsibility. Not only had he sped away, leaving the 114-year-old fatally injured on the highway, he didn’t surrender and tried to keep a low profile. But police managed to track him down from a few pieces of a broken headlight, CCTV camera footage and witness accounts.Confirming that Amritpal’s relatives had visited the family, Fauja’s son Harbinder said, “We know that he (Amritpal) did not have any enmity but he should have at least stopped to help.

If he was scared at that time and sped away, he could have told us later through acquaintances.” On Wednesday, Harbinder said if Fauja had survived, the family might not have pursued a complaint.It is learnt that Amritpal's relatives in the village also came to know about his vehicle hitting Fauja only after police arrived at his home.Fauja, popularly known as the ‘Turbaned Tornado’, will be cremated in his village, Beas, at noon on Sunday.