New Delhi: Uttarakhand police have arrested Kotdwar resident Mohammad Deepak based on the complaint of a businessman, Sanjeev Tonk, said reports on Thursday (October 1). Forty-two-year-old Deepak had on Republic Day, 2026, confronted Hindutva activists who were harassing an aged Muslim shopowner over the name of his store including the word “baba”.The arrest on Thursday appears to have followed a dispute between Deepak and Tonk over a Facebook post related to the recent controversy in Ujjain over the Shahi Mosque. The dispute is also being attributed to alleged threats issued by Deepak and an allegedly offensive remark about “Hindu society”.A video posted on a news site and other circulating on social media purportedly show Deepak and another person, identified as the local merchant, arguing. At first Deepak chats with three others at the location, but then heated words are exchanged between the two. Then they walk away from the camera.A large number of local traders then gathered outside the Kotwali police station and protested demanding strict action against Deepak.Screenshot from a video on X that claims to show Mohammad Deepak (on scooter) arguing with Sanjeev Tonk (in white kurta pyjama) in Kotdwar on October 1, 2026.Deepak was arrested and police have been deployed in Kotdwar after the development, said reports.In August, the Supreme Court stayed proceedings against Deepak in a previous case related to ‘rioting’ filed against him in Uttarakhand. That followed his alleged altercation with Hindutva activists over the word baba, which the activists said a Muslim could not use. When asked to reveal his name, Deepak had told the crowd he was “Mohammad Deepak”.A bigger crowd then arrived to attack Deepak for standing up for the Muslim shopkeeper. While Deepak had named Aman Swedia, Siddhant Badoni, Bhupi Chaudhary and others in his complaint, the state police lodged FIRs against unidentified individuals for disturbing the peace. Another mob had allegedly assembled outside his gym on January 3.The Supreme Court also stayed a March 20, Uttarakhand high court order that barred him from making social media posts about the incident and the case.The Uttarakhand high court had rejected Deepak’s prayers for police protection, an FIR against those who had threatened him and a departmental inquiry against police officials. It had accused him to trying to “sensationalise” the issue.