Deepak Kumar, the Uttarakhand gym owner who identified himself as Mohammad Deepak to rescue an elderly Muslim trader from the clutches of Bajrang Dal activists, met Rahul Gandhi at his mother Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence in Delhi on Monday.

Deepak said Rahul told him he would go to Kotdwar and take membership of his gym. Deepak described the visit as a courtesy call.

“Rahulji had called me today. He also spoke to my family members, my wife (over phone) to assure us of every support. He told me that there was nothing wrong
with whatever I did. He said I did a very good job,” Deepak said.

“Expressing support to me, he said he would visit Kotdwar and take membership of my gym. He asked me not to worry about anything,” Deepak added.

“The police had filed a case against me and I have been constantly receiving threats on social media,” he said.

Deepak also met Sonia.

“Every human being is equal. This is Indianness, this is ‘mohabbat ki dukaan’. Meeting with brother Mohammad Deepak from Uttarakhand — This same flame of unity and courage should burn in every Indian youth,” Rahul said in a social media post.

A large number of Bajrang Dal members had barged into Baba School Dresses & Matching Centre, owned by Mohammad Shoeb, 60, on January 31 and asked him to either remove the board bearing the name “Baba” or accept
Hinduism.

Deepak, whose gym is nearby, intervened and when the Bajrang members asked him who he was, he said: “My name is Mohammad Deepak.”