‘Mohammad’ Deepak arrested after assaulting trader over Facebook mosque comment

Deepak Kumar, who gained attention earlier this year for confronting Bajrang Dal members defending an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in Kotdwar, has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a local trader. The trader, Sanjeev Tonk, alleged that Kumar entered his shop and physically attacked him after Tonk responded negatively to a Facebook video in which Kumar urged Muslims in Ujjain to protest peacefully over a partial mosque demolition.

An FIR was lodged under BNS sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351 (criminal intimidation). Because the offenses carry a maximum penalty of less than seven years, Kumar was detained under BNS section 170, which allows preventive custody. Pauri Garhwal SSP Sarvesh Panwar said the police intervened after detecting a law-and-order situation and that Kumar will be presented before the sub-divisional magistrate on Friday. A resident who witnessed the incident confirmed that a heated argument escalated into the assault on Wednesday afternoon.