Sikh boy jokes about bomb in backpack, spends three days in custody

New York, Dec 18: A 12-year-old Sikh boy who was kept behind the bars for three days this month for causing a bomb scare admitted to the police he only joked to a classmate about bringing a bomb in his backpack, media reports said on Friday. The boy’s family, however, said he was framed.

As reported by inquisitr.com, Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook said that another student, who has not been identified, told a teacher that Armaan Singh Sarai told him (the student) that he (Sarai) was planning to blow up the school.

“Specifically, according to the student, Sarai claimed to have a bomb in his backpack, wired to go off at a certain time, and that Sarai planned to leave the bomb in a school bathroom and flee,” the report added, quoting the police official.

According to Cook, during interrogation, Sarai admitted telling his classmate about bringing a bomb, but insisted he was only joking. “Schools take bomb threats seriously, and that even joking about having a bomb at school is considered a terroristic threat - a felony,” Cook added.

Sarai’s family, however, said he was framed.

“A bully in class thought it would be funny to accuse him (Sarai) of having a bomb, and so the principal, without any questioning, interrogation, or notification to his parents, called the police,” Sarai’s cousin Ginee Haer wrote in a Facebook post that has since gone viral. “They kept him behind bars for three consecutive days, before filly releasing him on Monday, December 15th,” Haer wrote in the post. (ians)