A Sikh-American teenager, who penned a book about bullying of children from the community, was forced to remove his turban by airport personnel in the US state of California, according to a media report.

Karanveer Singh Pannu, an 18-year-old high school student from New Jersey, had gone to talk about his book 'Bullying of Sikh American Children: Through the Eyes of a Sikh American High School Student' as an inspirational speaker to address the kids participating in the annual Sikh Youth Symposium in Bakersfield, California.

"After going through the metal detector at the airport, I was asked to do a self-pat down of my turban and a chemical swab test for explosive material. After a positive swab test, I was taken to a secondary screening room to be given a full pat down and was asked to remove my turban to be further scanned," Pannu was quoted as saying by NBC.com.

"I refused at first but when they threatened me that I could not fly, I agreed, provided they gave me a mirror to retie my turban," he added.