Kumar furnished three bonds of Rs 50,000 each and was served a notice under BNSS Section 130
Kotdwar, Oct 3: Deepak Kumar, a gym owner from Kotdwar in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district, who gained public attention earlier this year for standing up to Bajrang Dal members who were harassing a Muslim shopkeeper, was released on bail by a local court on Friday, a day after being arrested on charges of threatening a local businessman, police said.
Kumar was produced before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate's court in Kotdwar at around 6.30 PM, where he was granted bail on furnishing three bonds of Rs 50,000 each. Officials said he was also served a notice under Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), cautioning him of action if he disturbs the peace during the next six months.
The case stems from a complaint filed on Thursday evening by local businessman Sanjeev Tonk, who alleged that Kumar behaved rudely, used abusive language, and threatened to kill him over a comment made on social media. According to the complaint, Tonk had commented on a post shared by Kumar, after which Kumar allegedly went to Tonk's shop at about 10.30 AM on Thursday, hurled abuses at him and issued the threat.
A case was first registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 351(2), relating to criminal intimidation, and 352, relating to intentional insult. Based on the findings of the investigation and CCTV footage, police subsequently added section 196, which deals with promoting enmity between groups, and section 115, which covers voluntarily causing hurt, officials said.
A senior police official said the probe also found that Kumar had earlier been involved in social disputes that affected law and order. "He was arrested on Thursday under Section 170 of the BNSS as a preventive measure, following reports that he was gathering crowds and creating tension," the official said.
Kumar first came into the public eye in January this year, during a row in Kotdwar over the name of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper's store. A video in which he backed the shopkeeper and introduced himself as "Mohammad Deepak" had gone viral on social media.
