Many Twitter users were surprised and puzzled to see #WelcomeBackDeepakSharma trend on Twitter on Tuesday.
As several Twitterati posted tweets supporting Deepak Sharma, several others were asking who is he.
In addition to this hashtag, few other hashtags like #ReleaseDeepakSharma, #IsupportDeepakSharma were also observed on Twitter.
For those who are unaware, Deepak Sharma is the same man who was accused of throwing ink on AAP MP Sanjay Singh.
The police later arrested him on Monday.
The accused was reportedly shouting slogans like "PFI ke dalalon wapas jao" when he attacked Sanjay Singh.
The UP government has said that outfits like PFI have been responsible for hatching a conspiracy to create caste tensions in the state. An open FIR has also been filed against unnamed people in this regard.
Who is Deepak Sharma?
According to PTI, Deepak Sharma describes himself as "founder" of the Hindu outfit 'Rashtra Swabhiman Dal' and has a history of provoking breach of peace between groups. Two years ago he was booked by the Gautam Buddh Nagar police for allegedly fanning communal tension between Indian and Afghan students.
In October 2018, ahead of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's visit to a private university in Greater Noida, Sharma had entered the varsity with his supporters where Indian and Afghan students had scuffled.
Around 350 students from both sides were booked in the case lodged at the local Knowledge Park police station, with the then District Magistrate B N Singh ordering another FIR against the "outsiders" including Sharma who had "escalated the minor scuffle into a communal issue".
BN Singh had also said he would have Sharma detained under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for "disrupting public order" with his "inflammatory video and remarks", prompting the right-wing activist to go into hiding for a long time.
When last checked by PTI, the unverified Twitter handle of Sharma, who has since frequently appeared in videos on social media sharing inflammatory content, had over 1.31 lakh followers including some politicians and senior UP government officials.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)
