My family continues to face vicious abuse: 'Mohd' Deepak in his own words

On 26 January, 42-year-old gym owner and fitness trainer Deepak Kumar saw his neighbour Vakil Ahmed, the 71-year-old proprietor of Baba School Dress & Matching Centre, being harassed by Bajrang Dal activists to remove the supposedly Hindu word ‘Baba’ from his shop signage.

When Deepak intervened, the crowd demanded his name. In a gesture of solidarity, he replied spontaneously, “My name is Mohammad Deepak”. A video of the incident went viral and thrust him into the national spotlight. What followed was a spiral of hate: FIRs, eviction notices, death threats, social-media abuse. His business collapsed.

In July, Deepak was in Delhi to lend support to the Jantar Mantar protests. In August, the Supreme Court stayed the FIR filed against him.

But the reprieve was short-lived. In early October, after Deepak’s post on the partial demolition of a mosque in Ujjain ordered by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, a local businessman accused him of abuse, assault and threats. On 1 October, Deepak was arrested. On 2 October, he was released on bail, bringing his turbulent nine-month journey — from defending his Muslim neighbour to becoming an accused — back into the spotlight. Mohammad Deepak tells his story to Rashme Sehgal.

I live in the small town of Kotdwar in Uttarakhand, where the people’s thinking has, over the years, become increasingly parochial and casteist. In the last few years, the government has unleashed so much anti-Muslim propaganda that it has polarised our society.

I was born in Kotdwar and have lived here for 42 years, but I'm not Garhwali. Everyone here knows me. I ran a successful gym with more than 200 members, and could pay a monthly rent of Rs 40,000-plus. After the 26 January incident, in order to hide their guilt, members of the Hindu Raksha Samiti and Bajrang Dal began to malign me and spread all kinds of falsehoods against me.

My family and I were subjected to vicious attacks over the phone. That wasn’t all. Every time I stepped out of our house, some shopkeepers (who were known to me) would make all kinds of derogatory remarks. The result of this hate propaganda was that the membership at my gym plummeted to 20 members. I am struggling to make ends meet. My wife started giving tuitions to kids at home, while my mother, who is 70 years old, runs a tea stall.

Every time I go to pick up my daughter from her school or walk down to give my mother her lunch box, some of the shopkeepers start screaming, ‘Katua ki aulad (butcher’s son), Muhammad ki aulad (Muhammad’s son)'.

One of them is Sanjeev Tonk, better known as Bablu. On 1 October, as is my routine, I was taking the lunch box to my mother, when he began calling me names. I stopped and told him, “Bhai, don’t talk like this. It creates a wrong impression about me.” Bablu picked up the phone and rang up the Bajrang Dal zilla adhyaksh Raj Gaurav Nautiyal, who landed up with 60 other men. An argument followed and I was taken to the police station around 3.00 pm and put in the lockup.

In his complaint, Sanjeev Tonk alleged that I had abused, threatened and even tried to assault him.

That entire group went to the police station. They parked there for the next four hours, shouting slogans and hectoring me. The police made no effort to stop them. My worried mother came to meet me but she was not allowed. The FIR lodged against me was under Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS. The police subsequently added Sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt).

My mother contacted a lawyer and I was released the next day at 7.00 pm. The SDM warned me, “The next time you misbehave, we will send you straight to Pauri jail.”

Following this incident, my Facebook account has been blocked once again. For me, this is a source of regret as I have 1.3 million followers. Because of this sizeable following, I am able to earn Rs 12,000 a month from ad revenues. The ban has only added to my financial woes.

Why should the police support these right-wing groups? So many people in our country need help. These right-wing people do not lift a finger to help the needy. Rather, these Hindutva boys have allowed themselves to become tools for pushing a divisive agenda.

Even when it was evident from videos and other witnesses present at Vakil Ahmed’s shop that I had nothing to do with the attack on Republic Day and had only stepped in to help an aged man who I saw was trembling with fear at the sight of so many Bajrang Dal activists threatening to close down his shop — an FIR was lodged against me. Vakil Ahmed had already had two heart attacks and was scared of suffering a third and fatal one.

When I sought the help of the Nainital High Court to quash the FIR and take action against local police officers and the right-wing mob, my plea was dismissed by Justice Rakesh Thapliyal in March. The judge claimed I was using unwarranted ‘pressure tactics’ to influence the ongoing investigation. I was also barred from posting videos or making statements on social media regarding the incident. He felt I was trying to sensationalise the matter.

I must emphasise that I have received love and respect from people around the country but not from those living in my own home state. Several lawyers from Delhi, on hearing about my situation, have helped me financially, which I appreciate greatly.

I have sought relief from the Supreme Court. My case was argued by eminent advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. On 31 August, the criminal proceedings against me were stayed and I was granted interim relief. The court also ordered the lifting of the social media restrictions that had been placed on me.

The Muslim community does support me but they are a minority and are scared to come out in the open. Rahul Gandhi himself contacted me and I came to Delhi to meet him. He has promised to visit Kotdwar; I hope he will come soon. Sadly, the Congress workers on the ground do not speak out in my favour in the state. They are scared they will lose the Hindu vote bank. Some politicians such as Sanjay Singh have come out in my support.

My family members were also subjected to hate attacks. At one point, they were so scared they felt that maybe I should offer an apology to help get us out of this difficult situation. I refused. If I see anybody in a similar situation, I would not hesitate to help that person. I am a Hindu but for me insaniyat (humanity) is more important.

I feel proud that I was able to help Vakil Ahmed. I also feel a sense of pride at the love and sammaan (respect) I have received from people around the country. I do not think I did anything wrong. I think more people should stand up for their fellow citizens.