Day after arrest, ‘Mohammad’ Deepak gets bail in ‘abuse’ case

A day after he was arrested for allegedly abusing a businessman, Deepak Kumar, alias ‘Mohammad’ Deepak, a gym owner from Kotdwar in Uttarakhand who came to the limelight earlier this year after confronting right-wing activists over the harassment of a Muslim shopkeeper, got bail from a local court on Friday (October 2, 2026). Mr. Kumar was arrested on Thursday (October 1) after the businessman filed a complaint alleging abuse, assault and threat.

The 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 traders named Irfan, Ahsan, Mohnish and Saddam. We were talking about business. This is when Deepak came… He then asked all the traders their names. After that, he asked why they were standing with me, a Hindu. When I objected to this, he abused me and tried to hit me. He then said that he would finish me off,” Mr. Tonk alleged.

Reports said the two had argued on social media over a post about the demolition of a mosque in Madhya Pradesh. This was brought to the notice of the magistrate, who told Mr. Kumar Deepak to exercise caution while posting on social media considering his large following. 

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

After examining CCTV footage from the spot, police has added Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) in the FIR.

Mr. Kumar came to the national spotlight when he confronted right-wing activists who were allegedly intimidating an elderly Muslim shopkeeper. The confrontation took place in Kotdwar on Republic Day. A video of the incident went viral, particularly the moment when Mr. Kumar introduced himself as “Mohammad Deepak”.

Following the incident, Mr. Kumar said that he had received threats. Although people from across the country supported him, he claimed the controversy affected his business, and gym memberships fell.