On the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, a heavy police force screened vehicles. Past multiple barricades and scrutinous eyes, Kotdwar on Monday was heavily guarded. At the centre of the security was Hulk Gym, owned by Deepak Kumar, now better known as “Mohammad Deepak”.
On Monday, entry into Kumar’s gym was restricted by the police. Three FIRs have been filed so far – one on the complaint of Vakeel Ahmed, the shopkeeper who was harassed; one on the complaint of a resident of Kotdwar against Deepak and his friend Vijay Rawat, who was with him on January 26 and is also seen in the video; and one by the police against unknown persons of Bajrang Dal.
Speaking to The Indian Express on Monday, Deepak said, “I said my name was Mohammad Deepak because it was the right thing to do. I am accountable only to god, and standing up for a man who was being attacked for his religion was the humane thing. I’m not fazed by these protests.”
His friend, Rawat (38), the Youth Congress’s district president, said the FIR has only made more people stand with them. “How can a group enter private property and demand that the owner change the name of the shop?” he said.
Deepak said Saturday’s mob had gathered after a call on social media. According to him, the video from January 26 was circulated online by right-wing outfits, who said Deepak had to be “taught a lesson”, and assembled in front of the gym on Saturday. He said that when he approached the police, they asked him why the January 26 incident was not reported to them.
In a video of the incident, Kumar confronts the mob and asks why others can name their shops Baba but not Ahmed. (Special Arrangement)
“Although the police were there, the mob hurled vile abuses about my family and me. I was at my gym, and hearing these words, I went down to confront them, and the police then took us to the police station to avert violence. I still don’t understand why they would register an FIR against us. We submitted videos and identified men who abused us, but we are facing an FIR now. I can’t wrap my head around it,” he said. Kumar said that the police have been summoning them to the police station. “The police have appealed for peace, but I was trying to restore peace. Those who are descending on Kotdwar from Dehradun are tampering with the peace here,” he said.
At his two-storey home, Deepak’s wife, Meenakshi Bisht (35), has sent their five-year-old daughter to her mother’s home. “She is unwell, and all this would trouble her more,” said Bisht. Deepak started as a fitness trainer around 20 years ago and later started his own gym at a rented property. His father died when he was a child, and his mother lives with him.
Growing up, his friends were from all faiths, said Bisht, and Muslim friends often frequented their home. “Ever since the incident, while his friends have not left his side, no one in the neighbourhood has dropped by to offer a word of comfort,” she said. Deepak admitted there is an isolation. “I don’t regret what I said. My mother is scared about the FIR and the mob, but she never said that I shouldn’t have done what I did,” he said. “The heart of the matter is I am an Indian, and in India, everyone has equal rights.”
Senior Superintendent of Police of Pauri Garhwal, Sarvesh Panwar, appealed on Monday that peace be maintained. “Legal action will be taken against anyone found at fault,” he said.
Opposite Deepak’s gym, Mahender Agarwal (75), a shopkeeper, said Deepak should have minded his own business. “It’s only natural that Bajrang Dal will react. Why was there a need to interfere in affairs he has nothing to do with?” he said.
Manish Ghansyal, who runs a general store, echoed this: “We have a peaceful atmosphere here. When the incident took place, it should have been resolved without Deepak’s comments.”
But Deepak is firm in his resolve: “Someone has to speak up. If they stifle one voice, another will rise.”
Deepak at a gym he owns in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand. (Express photo by Aiswarya Raj) 
In a video of the incident, Kumar confronts the mob and asks why others can name their shops Baba but not Ahmed. (Special Arrangement)
Share
