The Sikh-American who helped police capture the man wanted for the weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey, said he feared he might have been mistaken as the perpetrator because of the misconceptions about his faith.

Harinder Singh Bains, 51, said he does not like being called a hero for accurately identifying 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, the Afghan-born American man behind the bombings. Asserting that he is "what America looks like," Bains said he did what any other American would have done.

"When I heard about the attacks and realised the suspect was sleeping in a doorway across the street, I did what any American would do. I called the police. I'm not a hero. The police are heroes; the EMTs are heroes; everyone who is working to bring New York and New Jersey together today is a hero," Bains, who owns a bar in Linden, told reporters.

He said as a Sikh-American, he understand that "I could have been mistaken for the perpetrator. My faith teaches me justice and tolerance for all and I know that I'm lucky to live in a community that shares this view." Bains, who had emigrated from Chandigarh in 1996, stressed that after any attack, Americans should target people based on evidence of their role in the crime and not because of their faith or their country of origin or their accent.

"I came to this country from India 20 years ago to create a better life for my family. I am a father of four and a proud American citizen. I am also what America looks like," he said.