“Despite the resistance to my act, I don’t think I did anything wrong,” says Deepak Kumar
Days after a man stood up to a mob that was threatening a 70-year-old Muslim shopkeeper in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal, a group of more than 40 people gathered on Saturday to raise slogans against him in Kotdwar.
Deepak Kumar was at his friend’s shop on January 26 when he overheard several men heckling and threatening the shopkeeper next door, Vakeel Ahmed, over using ‘Baba’ in his shop name. Upon enquiring about the matter, Kumar, who runs a gym in the area, was asked not to intervene.
In a video of the incident, Kumar confronts the mob and asks why others can name their shops Baba but not Ahmed. “The shop is 30 years old, will you change the name?” he asks the crowd. Asked what his name is, Kumar replies, “My name is Mohammad Deepak.”
Recounting the incident, he told The Indian Express, “The 70-year-old man was asked to change the name of his shop from ‘Baba’ to something else because he was not Hindu. I asked them not to threaten an old man. They asked me my name, and in anger, I said I was Mohammad Deepak. I intended to convey that I was an Indian and everyone was equal before the law.”
While the group left the spot at the time, on Saturday, several men mobilised and assembled at a park in Kotdwar and started sloganeering against Kumar.
Kumar said he was intimidated and threats were levelled against his family. “Police were present there, but a large group of people were raising slogans at the park. The police said they will take legal action, but no FIR has been registered yet despite a complaint,” he said.
Officers in the district said a complaint has been received, but they will conduct an inquiry and register an FIR accordingly. “We have identified a few people and will take necessary action,” an officer at Kotdwar police station said.
Kumar said he had informed police well in advance of the situation, following the pushback the video received from various groups. “I told them that many people are assembling and threatening me and that they are responsible if a tense situation arises,” he said.
“Despite the resistance to my act, I don’t think I did anything wrong. I am not going back on my words because I have always stood up for the right thing. The man was too frail to stand up to the mob. I didn’t know him well, but I said what I thought was right,” he said.
Meanwhile, an FIR was registered at Kotdwar police station under sections 115(2), 333, 351(2), 352 of the BNS based on a complaint by Ahmed, who has been running a shop named ‘Baba School Dress’ on Patel Marg for the past 30 years.
“On January 26, three to four boys came to my shop and claimed to be members of the Bajrang Dal. They told me to change the name of my shop from ‘Baba’ to something else. I was threatened and intimidated, and they warned that if I did not change the shop’s name, the consequences would not be good,” the complaint states, seeking action against two named accused and unknown persons.
Congress senior vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said that within the past two months, the murder of a student from the Northeast, the attack on Kashmiri youths in Vikasnagar, and now the dispute in Kotdwar involving threats to a minority shopkeeper have severely damaged Uttarakhand’s image. “These incidents are also disturbing communal harmony across the state, which must be urgently addressed,” he said.
