The Dehradun hero talks of closing his gym due to falling income, unpaid rent and mounting loan pressure
DEHRADUN — Several months after he came into the public spotlight for raising his voice against the alleged harassment of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in Uttarakhand, gym owner Deepak Kumar, now widely known as “Mohammad Deepak”, says he is struggling to keep his business running amid continuing boycott calls and financial pressure.
According to Deepak, the social and economic boycott campaign launched against his gym after the controversy severely affected his livelihood and continues to impact him months later. He now fears that he may lose the gym entirely as he has been unable to regularly pay rent for the premises.
Deepak said that immediately after the controversy, the number of active members at his gym reportedly dropped sharply from around 150 to nearly 15. Although several people from Delhi and other areas later took memberships in solidarity with him, he says the damage caused by the boycott campaign could not be fully reversed.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Deepak explained that the number of regular visitors eventually improved to around 70 per day, but the financial losses and social atmosphere created by the controversy continued to affect the business.
He said he has been unable to pay the monthly rent of Rs 40,000 for the gym premises for the last several months. Apart from the rent burden, he also faced difficulties repaying instalments on a bank loan taken for constructing his house.
Deepak said the landlord has now asked him to vacate the premises because four months’ rent remains unpaid.
“I was unable to pay the rent regularly. Things were slowly improving because nearly 70 people had started coming to the gym daily, but the owner indirectly made it clear that he no longer wanted to rent the place to me because I had spoken for Muslims,” Deepak said.
He further stated that some lawyers from the Supreme Court had offered support by paying annual gym membership fees to help him continue operating the business. However, he said that running a gym required much more than membership support alone.
“When the membership campaign was happening, I used that money for loan instalments and my child’s school fees, so I could not regularly pay rent. Now the landlord has threatened eviction,” he added.
The controversy surrounding Deepak had earlier drawn attention on social media after he allegedly faced threats from Hindutva groups for speaking out against the harassment of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper.
In March, Deepak approached the Uttarakhand High Court seeking cancellation of an FIR registered against him. During the proceedings, the court advised him to avoid sharing messages or videos on social media while cooperating with the investigation.
The high court later disposed of the petition while stressing the importance of a fair and transparent investigation into the matter.
Deepak’s case has continued to generate discussion around social boycott, online targeting and the economic consequences faced by individuals who become involved in sensitive communal controversies.
