Washington: A young Sikh boy in Texas discovered that it's not a good time for kidding around in school after police detained him over a bomb threat he allegedly made as a joke. The boy's family says the authorities overreacted and their response was disproportionate: the boy, who has a heart condition, was detained for three days. The family also claims he was framed by a class bully who turned what was evidently a class joke into an emergency situation.

It all happened when 12-year-old Armaan Singh and his classmates were horsing around in class about recent bomb threats and emergency situations in schools. Depending on whose version one believes, Singh, either responding to taunts about his backpack, which had a battery charger, or unilaterally, claimed it had a bomb in it. Another boy who Singh's family claims is a class bully reported him to the principal, who immediately called in the police.

The local police was unapologetic about turning up and taking the boy into custody, given the spate of gun violence in schools and colleges in America. ''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 Armaan's family says several boys in the class were in on the joke, but only he was detained in what they allege is a case of racial discrimination.

''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,'' Armaan's brother Aksh wrote in an email to the school principal. ''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.''

Armaan's cousin Ginee Haer went public with the incident with a Facebook posting hashtagged #JusticeForArmaan#SikhLivesMatter #HumanityMatters.

''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! My cousin is a minor and was arrested without any evidence or guardian present! This should show you how fucked up the system is! 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! The color of your skin does not define who you are! Please help share this post to open people's eyes to the fuckery that goes on in our system,'' she wrote.

Armaan's family says they were worried sick when he did not return from school on December 11, also because he has had three heart surgeries to address a heart problem. The school principal told them he had been taken into custody but did not know where he was taken. They finally found him held in a juvenile detention center, held along with with teenagers accused of crimes such as drug possession and theft.

The incident recalled the September arrest of Ahmed Mohamed, a Muslim teen of Sudanese descent, on suspicion of a bomb hoax after he brought a homemade clock to school.

''We're very concerned about the proliferation of these threats over the few months,'' a police spokesman said. ''This is serious stuff in the day and age that we live in. We have to respond to these emerging threats.''

A massive school closure in Los Angeles earlier this week, resulting in the shutting down of some 1,500 schools following what turned out to be a hoax terror threat, cost the city $29 million.

