Indian bar owner helped in US bombing suspect's arrest

Harinder Bains called the police when he saw the Afghan-American sleeping in the doorway of his bar

An Indian bar owner helped in the arrest of the man suspected to be involved in recent New York and New Jersey bombings.

Harinder Bains called the police when he saw Afghan-American Ahmad Khan Rahami sleeping in the doorway of his bar in New Jersey. He immediately recognised his face as it had been shown in the media, NDTV reported.

"I'm just a regular citizen doing what every citizen should do. Cops are the real heroes, law enforcement [sic] are the real heroes," said Bains who is now praised as a ‘hero’.

Rahami was taken into custody on Monday after being wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police officers in Linden, just outside Elizabeth, a working-class city about 20 miles southwest of New York City with a large immigrant population.

New York bomb suspect identified as Afghan origin US citizen

Authorities suspect him of setting off a bomb that wounded 29 people in Manhattan on Saturday, as well as leaving a bag with five other devices in New Jersey on Sunday, one of which exploded without causing injury.

The Indian businessman’s bar was around 5km away from where the police had found a backpack that contained bombs.

Rahami’s father told FBI his son is a terrorist

Meanwhile, Rahami’s father Mohammad Rahami said that he had told the Federal Investigation Agency (FBI) that his son is a terrorist. He had complained when his son stabbed another of his sons, leading to a criminal investigation.

“Two years ago I go [went] to the FBI because my son was doing really bad, OK?” the bomber’s father said, adding, “But they check[ed] almost two months, they say, ‘He’s OK, he’s clean, he’s not a terrorist.’ I say [said] OK.”

He added: “Now they say he is a terrorist. I say OK.”

Rahami spent more than three months in jail after these charges and was later on released when the grand jury declined to indict him.