A day after the arrest, “Mohammad” Deepak gets bail in the “abuse” case.

Deepak Kumar alias Mohammad Deepak. File | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

A day after he was arrested for allegedly abusing a shopkeeper, Deepak Kumar alias ‘Mohammad’ Deepak, a gym owner from Kotdwar in Uttarakhand who came into the limelight earlier this year after he confronted right-wing activists over the harassment of a Muslim shopkeeper, was granted bail by a local court on Friday (October 26). Mr Kumar was arrested on Thursday (October 1) after the businessman filed a complaint alleging abuse, assault and threats.

Complainant Sanjeev Tonk alleged that Mr. Kumar confronted him outside his shop on Gangadutt Joshi Marg.

“I was standing outside my shop along with other shopkeepers named Irfan, Ahsan, Mohnish and Saddam. We were talking about the shop. That’s when Deepak came… Then he asked all the shopkeepers their names. Then he asked why they were standing with me, a Hindu. When I objected, he abused me and tried to hit me. Then he said he wanted to terminate me.”

Reports said the two got into an argument on social media over a post about the demolition of a mosque in Madhya Pradesh. This was pointed out by the judge who told Mr. Kumar Deepak to be careful in posting on social media in view of his large following.

According to the police, Mr Kumar was initially booked under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to cause breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

After examining the CCTV footage from the spot, the police added sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 115 (voluntarily causing bodily harm) to the FIR.

Mr Kumar came into the limelight when he confronted right-wing activists who allegedly intimidated an elderly Muslim businessman. The confrontation took place in Kotdwar on Republic Day. A video of the incident went viral, especially when Mr. Kumar introduced himself as “Mohammad Deepak”.

After the incident, Mr Kumar said he received threats. Although people from all over the country supported him, he claimed that the controversy affected his business and gym memberships dropped.

Published – 02 Oct 2026 23:24 IST