Featured image credit: Supplied
In what can only be described as a massive misunderstanding, this poor lad got mistaken for a 'suicide bomber' due to the fact that he was wearing a back brace.
Luckily, Hinesh Vegad has an awesome sense of humour. Instead of kicking off (like I probably would to be fair) he posed for pictures with police officers and made a Facebook status out of it. What a lad.
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The 25-year-old had been out in Bolton shopping when his appearance concerned some members of the public. He told us: "[One person] had reported the sighting as an 'Asian man wearing body armour which was packed at the bottom and wires hanging out'."
"After the call the police dispatched a number of cars around the area to look for me as well as visiting shops and making them aware of the situation. The officers visited a shop where a friend of mine works. She put two and two together and confirmed it was me they were looking for and it was not a suicide vest but rather a supporting back brace. She then passed my number on."
Soon afterwards, he received a call from the police. He invited them over to his work to resolve it and I assume they had a good laugh about it.
Judging by their photo, this was the best thing to happen to these particular police officers all day. Look at those grins.
Credit: Facebook
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Fair play to Hinesh - even after that misunderstanding he has nothing but praise for both the police and the people who dobbed him in it in the first place. He said: "I'm not angry or upset in any way about what has happened. The members of public were right to alert the police.
"I can understand why it looks suspicious and the police handled the situation correctly and appropriately. They were friendly and very understanding. Hats off to both of them, you can never be too careful. This time it was a false alarm but next time it may not be.
"I honestly don't think it was anything to do with race. I would like to think that if someone hadn't seen a back brace like this before and thought it looked suspicious, then they would report it regardless of who was wearing it.
"I just look back at this whole thing and laugh it off!"
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If you're wondering, Hinesh suffered an injury at the end of June and has had to wear a supporting back brace ever since. This particular one is new and he struggles to wear a coat or anything over it. He said: "The shoulder straps sit high so its difficult to wear anything over it. I have nothing to hide though and to be fair if I tried to hide it, it would look more suspicious!"
In all seriousness, the police did do the right thing but you've got to laugh, right?!
Words by Mel Ramsay
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Police, terrorism, Funny, Mistake