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Uttarakhand: Shop name triggers communal tension in Pauri; two FIRs lodged
Police said based on the complaint, the Kotdwar Police Station has booked the two named individuals and their unidentified associates.
Communal tension erupted in the Kotdwar area of Pauri district in Uttarakhand after right-wing activists from Dehradun allegedly threatened a local shopkeeper, demanding that he change the name of his 30-year-old establishment. The police have lodged two FIRs in connection with the incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pauri Sarvesh Panwar said a local shopkeeper named Wakeel Ahmed approached them alleging that he was threatened by individuals claiming to be members of the Bajrang Dal, who demanded that he change the name of his shop.
“We have registered an FIR following a written complaint by the victim,” he said.
In his complaint, Ahmed said he has been operating his shop, ‘Baba School Dress’, on Patel Marg for the past three decades. According to the complaint, the incident occurred on January 26, 2026, when three-four young men entered his shop. They allegedly identified themselves as Bajrang Dal members and issued a stern ultimatum to change the shop’s name or face “dire consequences”. They allegedly intimidated and threatened him, saying the result would not be good if the name ‘Baba’ was not removed, Ahmed stated in his complaint.
Ahmed identified two of the alleged harassers as Gaurav Kashyap and Shakti Singh Gonsai and said he feared for his safety after the incident.
Panwar said that based on the complaint, the Kotdwar Police Station has booked the two named individuals and their unidentified associates under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 333 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), and Sections 351(2) and 352 (criminal intimidation and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).
Panwar said the police are investigating the matter and will take necessary action to maintain peace and order. “Police have been deployed in the area and everything is under control,” he said.
The SSP said the police have also registered a separate FIR against 30 to 40 unidentified individuals, alleged to be members of a right-wing organisation, for inciting communal disharmony, obstructing a national highway and manhandling police personnel in Kotdwar on Saturday.
He said the incident, which took place between pm and 3.15pm, disrupted peace in the area as protesters blocked National Highway 534 for over an hour, causing distress to commuters, including women, the elderly and emergency services.
According to the FIR lodged by Sub-Inspector Vinod Kumar Chaprana, the confrontation stemmed from a days-old dispute involving a local shop named ‘Baba Dress’. The police received intelligence inputs that a group was planning to target gym owner Deepak Kumar, who had come out in support of the Muslim shopkeeper.
When a police team intercepted a convoy of 12-15 vehicles at the Kaudiya Barrier, the situation turned volatile. The protesters allegedly used their vehicles to block the road and began raising slogans aimed at hurting religious sentiments.
Despite attempts by senior officers and reinforcements to pacify the crowd, the protesters allegedly pushed past police barricades. “The group was aggressive and engaged in scuffles with the police force. They even removed their shoes and brandished them at the public to create an atmosphere of terror,” the complainant said.
The mob later reached the Patel Marg market, where they continued shouting provocative slogans outside the garment shop, further escalating communal tension.
Panwar said cases have been registered under several sections of the BNS, including Sections 191(2) and 196(2) (rioting and promoting enmity between groups), Sections 121(2) and 126(2) (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servants and wrongful restraint), Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1934.
“Most of the accused are believed to have travelled from Dehradun and Haridwar,” the SSP said, adding that Sub-Inspector Dinesh Chamoli has been appointed as the investigating officer to identify those involved using video footage and local intelligence.
Meanwhile, 46-year-old gym owner Deepak Kumar said a group of Bajrang Dal workers confronted him after he stepped in to defend Wakeel Ahmed. “My name is Mohammad Deepak,” he told them when they demanded his identity. Deepak said he was sitting at a friend’s shop on Gokhale Road when the group arrived at ‘Baba School Dress and Matching Centre’ and objected to the use of the word ‘Baba,’ claiming it referred to Baba Sidhbali, associated with Lord Hanuman, whose prominent temple is located in Kotdwar.
According to Deepak, the shopkeeper tried to explain that the name had no religious meaning and had existed for decades, but the workers allegedly continued to harass and intimidate the elderly man.
The situation escalated further on Saturday when a large group of Bajrang Dal workers staged a protest outside Deepak’s gym in the presence of police, demanding that he come outside. In a video recorded during the protest, the workers were heard saying, “The man who calls himself Mohammad Deepak has now shut his gym and fled. His bravery has been exposed. If he has the courage, he should come outside. He chased away unarmed Bajrang Dal workers. We are now standing in his city, yet he has run away. If he loves Muslims, then he should wear a skull cap and become a Muslim.”
