A fitness trainer from Uttarakhand who drew national attention after confronting a mob threatening an elderly Muslim shopkeeper met Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, where Gandhi assured him of support and said he plans to visit his gym, the trainer said.
The meeting comes nearly a month after Deepak Kumar, 38, intervened on January 26 in Kotdwar town, Pauri Garhwal district, when a group of men pressed a 70‑year‑old Muslim shop owner to remove the word “Baba” from his shop’s name. Kumar, who runs a local gym, told the crowd his name was Mohammad Deepak during the confrontation, a moment that went viral online.
Kumar said after the meeting with Gandhi that the opposition leader had spoken with his family and told him he had done the right thing. He quoted Gandhi as saying he would come to Kotdwar and take membership at his gym.
The gym owner said threats he had received in the weeks after the Republic Day incident had stopped, and he welcomed Gandhi’s planned visit.
Kumar’s gym membership numbers reportedly dropped sharply after the January incident. Senior advocates from the Supreme Court had offered support after national media coverage highlighted the decline in his clientele.