The latest victim of Islamophobia is a 12-year-old Sikh boy in Arlington, Texas.

Armaan Singh Sarai, a student at Nichols Junior High School in Arlington with a heart condition, was arrested and jailed for three days based on a bully’s accusation that he had a bomb in his backpack. Nichols principal Julie Harcrow immediately called police, who searched Armaan’s backpack and determined there was no bomb. Despite that fact, Armaan was detained for three days at a juvenile detention facility. Neither police nor the school informed Armaan’s parents where he was being held.

Armaan’s cousin, Ginee Haer, described the ordeal in a Facebook post that has since gone viral:

Worried & frightened at home, his family was concerned as to why he had not reached home right after school. They started calling every police department in the area, only to find out he was sent to a Juvenile facility. They kept him held behind bars for three consecutive days, before finally releasing him on Monday, December 15th.

Haer also expressed frustration at the way her cousin was treated, given his medical history. Even though Armaan is just 12 years old, he’s endured three open heart surgeries due to an undisclosed heart condition Haer said he was born with.

    

“My cousin is a minor and was arrested without any evidence or guardian present! This should show you how fucked up the system is!” Haer wrote. “There are good people out there, but the majority of the system is corrupt! All these bastards see is race & the color of your skin!”

However, according to the Arlington police, Armaan told his bully that he had a bomb in his backpack, which police say he later admitted to falsely claiming.

“People have got to learn they cannot make these types of threats which cause alarm, which cause evacuations,” Arlington Police Department spokesman Lt. Christopher Cook told the Dallas Morning News. “Just because you say it’s a joke, it doesn’t get you out of trouble.”

But in an email to Principal Harcrow, Armaan’s older brother, Aksh Singh, pointed out that Armaan and other students had been joking about bomb threats, yet Armaan was the only one arrested.

“My little brother Armaan Singh, 12 years of age, a loved kid by many was taken from school to Kimbo Juvenile center because he AND other students were joking about bomb threats,” Singh wrote. “I know we live in a time where such an accusation is serious, but this is outrageous and I demand a justified reason for why a 12-year-old INDIAN boy was taken into police custody and sent to a jail.”