Jalandhar: A Canada-based man arrested for allegedly running over Fauja Singh has told the police that he did-n’t know the victim was the world’s oldest marathoner, sources said on Wednesday.

The accused, Amritpal Singh Dhillon, said that he learnt about the death of 114-year-old Singh through the news.

The 26-year-old was arrested for allegedly ramming his car into Singh, popularly known as ‘Turbaned Tornado’, on a highway in the veteran runner’s native village of Bias in Punjab’s Jalandhar district on Monday. Dhillon was caught at his Kartarpur home, and his vehicle, a Punjab-registered Toyota Fortuner, has also been seized. The accused had come to India on June 23, senior police officer Harvinder Singh Virk told a press conference after his arrest.

Dhillon had gone to Canada on a tourist visa but got a work permit there, which is valid till 2027, the officer said.

He said that Dhillon was speeding as he was in a hurry for some work.

“He got scared after hitting Fauja Singh, and that is why he did not stop his car at the spot,” Virk said. Virk said it was Dhillon’s responsibility to stop the vehicle at the time of the accident and should have taken Fauja Singh to a hospital.