A day after his arrest over a complaint of allegedly abusing, assaulting and threatening a businessman, Kotdwar gym owner Deepak Kumar alias ‘Mohammad’ Deepak was released on bail on Friday evening, police officials said.

Deepak was produced before a magistrate on Friday and was asked to execute a bond assuring that he would not disturb peace and would maintain harmony, police officials told . He was subsequently released on Friday evening.

The development comes a day after businessman Sanjeev Tonk lodged a complaint against Deepak at Kotdwar Kotwali, alleging that the two had an altercation after an interaction on a social media post. Police had arrested Deepak as a preventive measure, citing apprehension of a breach of peace.

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When contacted by , Deepak declined to comment.

However, people close to him claimed Tonk and Deepak had known each other for several years. A source said that after the January incident — when Deepak came into the spotlight following a confrontation with members of the Bajrang Dal in Kotdwar, where he defended an elderly Muslim shopkeeper — they fell apart.

According to the source, the confrontation on Thursday morning began when Deepak was on his way to his mother’s tea shop, located on the same street in Kotdwar as Tonk’s garment shop.

“On Thursday morning, when Deepak was going to his mother’s tea shop, which is on the same street as Tonk’s garment shop, there was a confrontation,” the source claimed.

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Tonk, however, denies having interacted with Deepak in the past.

Speaking to on Friday, Tonk said he had been running his shop in the Kotdwar area for several years. “Deepak lived in the same area as I did. But in all these years, we never had any interaction,” Tonk said.

“This is the first time I ever interacted with Deepak, and that too on a social media post,” he claimed.

“On Thursday morning, after the interaction on the post, I was at my garment shop in Kotdwar with my friends. Deepak came and yelled at me and manhandled me,” Tonk alleged.

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“I felt unsafe and went to the police on Thursday afternoon and filed a complaint,” he said.

The dispute appears to have been linked to an exchange on social media concerning an online post or comment related to the partial demolition of a mosque in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

Police initially registered a case under Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

During the investigation, police said they examined CCTV footage, photographs and videos and subsequently added Section 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) and Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) of the BNS.

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Deepak was arrested under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) as a preventive measure, with police citing the possibility of a disturbance to peace and law and order. Police also carried out a flag march in Kotdwar on Thursday evening.