Bains hailed as a hero, but he says the law enforcement are the real heroes.
NEW YORK: There may be a new round of speculation, fear and even anxiety in the mind of most Americans when they see a person of brown skin after the bombings in New York and New Jersey by the terrorist, Afghani American Ahmad Khan Rahami, but it was another brown skinned man – now hailed as a hero by many Americans – who helped the Linden, New Jersey police: Indian American businessman Harinder Bains.
In an exclusive interview to CNN, Bains – who through his comments made it clear that he’s a citizen of the US and thinks it’s the law enforcement who are real heroes, and not him – explained to host Anderson Cooper that he was the first person who saw Rahami, sleeping in the doorway of his bar, Merdie’s Tavern, on East Elizabeth Avenue, in Linden, New Jersey, around 9 a.m. He thought a drunk man was sprawled there.
Bains woke up Rahami, who was sleeping with a hoodie pulled over his head. Bains said he had been watching CNN on his laptop earlier in the morning which had put up Rahami’s photos as the man wanted in connection with the bombings. Immediately after he saw Rahami’s face, Bains thought he looked familiar, and after he went to a store he owns across the street, began to suspect that it was indeed Rahami who was the one sleeping at his bar.
Bains later called the police, which eventually led to the arrest of Rahami after a shootout which left two policemen injured, including one who got shot on his bulletproof vest. The bar is about three miles from where the New Jersey police earlier found a backpack containing bombs.
Cooper told Bains that it was a “pleasure and honor” to talk to him, his action ensured that many lives were saved. Bains accepted the praise and compliments modestly, said he only did his job as a citizen.
What’s equally important to remember is that Bains too looked somewhat similar to Rahami. A brown skinned man, with a beard. Bains wore a cap during the interview, so it was not clear if he was a turbaned Sikh or not. But going by his name, it’s sure that Bains has his roots in Punjab, or some family there, before he emigrated to the US.
It’s important for America to remember that Bains is a Sikh, from the same religion, with roots from the same country, India, which was discriminated against after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many innocent Sikhs were murdered and assaulted for resembling Afghani men and those from the Middle East.
Bains had a huge opportunity to put this point forward in front of a national audience but he didn’t, or perhaps forgot to. Anyway, he’s definitely a hero, and a man who deserves all the kudos for doing the right thing promptly. His business at the bar and store is going to go crazy.
Bains told Cooper: “If you see something, say something,” lines which are taken from a ubiquitous public ad that is broadcast and printed almost everywhere at public commuting stations in the Tristate area.
3 Comments
US ally Pakistan has root for both terror incidents, what is making US to not act tough against Pak??
coz the person accused is not from Pak?
one should go by the accused, or go by the root?