12-year-old Sikh boy arrested in US after classmate accuses him of carrying a bomb

Armaan Singh Sarai, a 12-year-old boy from an American-Sikh family, was arrested by the Dallas police on December 11 and held for three consecutive days after he was accused by a “bully” in his class of carrying a bomb to school, claims his cousin in a Facebook post.

  

Ginee Haer, who claims to be Armaan’s cousin, took to Facebook to describe the boy's ordeal. Describing Armaan as a “goofball”, Haer tells us how her cousin was born and raised in Texas and recently moved to Dallas with his family. The post goes on to describe Armaan’s congenital heart condition, which has led him to having three open heart surgeries. This she said  had already made settling in a new location difficult. 

According to Haer, Armaan was arrested by the police on December 11 on the basis of an accusation by one of his school-mates. Haer writes: “A bully in class thought it would be funny to accuse him of having a bomb, and so the principal, without any questioning, interrogation, or notification to his parents, called the police.”

Haer goes on to describe how Armaan’s family contacted every police department in the area in a bid to locate him, only to find out that he had been sent to a juvenile facility. 

Haer claims Armaan was kept behind bars for three consecutive days, before finally being released on Monday, December 15.

The alleged incident comes just three months after the arrest of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed in Irving, Texas. Ahmed had made a digital clock and taken it to his school to present it before his teacher. Instead of appreciation or praise, Ahmed found himself detained and arrested after one of the teachers mistook his creation for a bomb and called the police.

Ahmed’s arrest caused a national outcry with President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Mark Zuckerberg coming out in support of the young inventor. Ahmed’s family, according to a CNN report, is seeking $15 million and apology from the city and school officials.  

Describing her feelings about the incident, Haer writes: “It hurts my heart and boils my blood that there are people stupid enough out there not only accusing us, but our innocent children of being terrorists!”

 

This goofball on the left in this picture is my 12 year old cousin, Armaan Singh Sarai. He was born and raised in Texas...

Posted by Ginee Haer on Tuesday, 15 December 2015