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All that Deepak Kumar did was confront a Bajrang Dal mob when they harassed a 70-year-old Vakeel Ahmed, a shopkeeper in Kotdwar, Uttarakhand. Nearly two weeks later, his action seems to have rattled the hate ecosystem in the state. From open threats to a bounty being announced, Kumar has received more hate, albeit some support, for standing up to hate.
Among those who have issued these open threats is Lalit Sharma, state president of the Hindu Raksha Dal. He made several inflammatory and offensive remarks against Kumar and instructed his units to reach Kumar's gym at 3 PM on 12 February, Thursday.
"Sun bhai Deepak, tera dimaag theek karne Hindu Raksha Dal aarha hain."
(Listen, Deepak, Hindu Raksha Dal is coming to fix your brain).
Hindu Raksha Dal Asks Police 'To Stay Away'
Sharma is not a new face in Uttarakhand. He has often been seen spreading hate and issuing open threats to Muslims and had also earlier backed the distribution of swords in Ghaziabad. Last year, he had vowed to "drive out Kashmiri Muslims" from the state after the Pahalgam attack.
This time around Sharma has found a new target: Deepak Kumar.
He reiterated that Hindu Raksha Dal will fix this "new Mulla" referring to Kumar. In the video, he openly instructed the police to "stay away and let Sanatanis handle this issue and meet Deepak."
"Deepak is a secular keeda that needs to be killed," he said. "All those who are supporting Kumar, make all the efforts you can, we will too. We will bring a group of Sanatanis and you will bring a group of Jihadis with you. We'll see if Jihadis will win or Sanatanis. We know will. We are not scared of these newly turned Mullas," added Sharma.
The targeted hate against Kumar has only become more intense in the past few weeks.
Earlier, the mob had also entered Kumar's Hulk Gym when he had confronted them. As a result of this incident, the footfall in his gym has also taken a hit.
While speaking to The Quint for an interview, Kumar was talking about a few days ago: "Gym was open all day but entire day hardly 10-12 people had come to the gym." From around 150 people, the daily footfall has fallen severely to 12-15, as also reported by The Indian Express.
A Reward For 'Killing Deepak'
The threats have also extended to a bounty.
In a purported video, a man with a tilak on his forehead was seen holding a bundle of Rs 500 denomination currency notes in his left hand.
He could be heard saying, “Whoever kills Mohammad Deepak and carries out the task of ‘educating’ him about Sanatan Dharma, will be given Rs 2 lakh.”
Uttarakhand police has now filed an FIR on the basis of a complaint by Kumar. The FIR was registered under section 351 (3) (threat to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) late on 8 February.
Assistant police superintendent Chandra Mohan Singh reportedly said, “We registered the FIR after receiving a complaint from Deepak Kumar. The man seen issuing the threat in the video has been identified as Utkarsh Singh, a resident of East Champaran district in Bihar. We are taking further action in the matter.”
These actions have left Kumar's family in distress and fear.
Four days after the 26 January incident in Kotdwar, an FIR was filed against Kumar and his friend, Vijay Rawat who had also confronted the mob.
Kumar had recalled that whatever the mob did was in public view in the presence of the police. Three FIRs were filed, one against Deepak, two against the mob, one by a police official and the other by the shopkeeper. The Quint has accsessed all three of them.
In the complaint filed against Kumar and Rawat, the complainant wrote that under their actions of protection of religions, he had gone along with members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad to speak to the public and it was Kumar and Rawat who stopped them from doing so.
He alleged that "Kumar and Rawat beat them, used derogatory words and snatched their mobile phones."
However, the other two FIRs along with the visuals circulated online clearly show that it was the Hindu right-wing mob which attacked first, the shopkeeper and then Kumar and Rawat.
"The men came from Dehradun, they crowded, did chakka jam, and created ruckus. It was just us against them. And still the police filed a case against us and not investigated them yet," Kumar told The Quint in an interview.
"Darenge toh uparwale se darenge, inse thodi darenge," (If we are to be scared it will be from God and not these guys), Kumar said.
Interestingly, some of the men who have led this mob have been active in targeting Muslim shopkeepers in the recent times and have been easily identified online. And yet, the FIR filed by the police official has called them 'unidentified.'
One of these men, Aman Swedia, member of Bajrang Dal was again seen harassing a Muslim shopkeeper in Dehradun. Several locals were seen condemning his actions.
'Gym Bros,' Opposition Leaders Stand With Deepak
Despite these blatant attempts of spreading hate, the duo, Kumar and Rawat have stated they do not have any regrets that they helped an elderly Muslim man.
"We saw that Baba as helpless so we intervened to help. We did nothing wrong. And this what we got for it, a case filed against us. But we know that rest of India is standing with us," Rawat told The Quint here.
Meanwhile, several leaders of the Opposition have also shown their support for Kumar and Rawat.
CPI (M) MP John Brittas visited his home and gym and wrote on X: "Today, those echoes of secular resistance resonate through Deepak Kumar of Kotdwar, who stood before a mob and proudly said, “Mohammad Deepak.”
"As divisive forces threaten our social fabric, Deepak’s courage in shielding an elderly Muslim shopkeeper embodies the hope India needs," he added.
Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had shown his support for Kumar calling him a 'lion-hearted warrior.'
"We need more Deepaks - those who do not bow, who do not fear, and who stand firmly with the Constitution with all their might. We are with you, brother. Don't be afraid," wrote Gandhi on X.
The community of gym trainers have also not been behind in offering solidarity to Kumar. Reportedly, one of the body-builders in the state, Mohit Chopra had shown his support for Kumar. The signboard of his gym was purportedly seen tainted thereafter.
In another video, gym trainers said, "Our community of gym trainers, gym go-ers are one and we stand with Deepak Kumar, and whenever he says, we will stand with him in Kotdwar."