A 12-year-old Sikh boy, Armaan Singh Sarai, was sent to a juvenile detention centre for three days after he and his classmates allegedly joked about him having a bomb while at his Texas school. Neither school nor police officials informed his family, who allegedly called local police departments and found out about the December 11 incident much after it happened. A Facebook post by the child’s cousin says a “class bully” was the one who joked about him having a bomb. Other reports also suggest he was not the only child who joked about having a bomb, though he was the only one detained.

Police told a different story, saying they did not know why he was held for three days, since that is “determined by the justice department”. They also said that his parents’ numbers were not reachable when the police tried to get in touch with them.

Sarai was born and raised in Texas. His family says he suffers from a heart condition. Police said the child did not inform them of his health problems. Lieutenant Christopher Cook, from the Arlington Police Department, told The Hindustan Times that this was not a case of ethnic profiling.