Top News

A woman in a grey hoodie , standing with her arms stretched out in front of a police van, has become one of the most talked-about faces from the recent protests in Mumbai.


The woman is 27-year-old model Rhiya Ahir , who suddenly found herself in the spotlight after a video of her standing in front of a police vehicle spread rapidly on social media.


Ahir wasn't planning to become the face of a protest that day. In fact, she was simply walking from Kohinoor Square in Dadar towards Shivaji Park when she noticed something that caught her attention - a police van carrying detained protesters.


What happened next was completely spontaneous, at least according to her account.


She walked towards the van and stood directly in its path.


"I couldn't help myself," Ahir later said, explaining why she decided to intervene.


She said the protesters' chants had caught her attention and that, after seeing them being taken away, she felt she couldn't just continue walking.


"Their chants - they pulled me towards them," she said. "I was like, if I'm going for the protest, it starts from here. They're taking them away, and I cannot let that happen," she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.


Ahir said she believed the protesters were being taken away unnecessarily and decided to stop the vehicle.


The moment was captured on video. In the footage, she can be seen standing in front of the police van with her arms spread out as officers appear to speak to her. The clip soon began making the rounds online, and before long, people were trying to find out who the woman in the grey hoodie was.


'I was shaking on the inside'


The video may make Ahir look fearless, but she says the reality was quite different.


She admitted that she was nervous during the confrontation and was "shaking on the inside" when she stood up to the police.


But she didn't move.


"I knew that what I was doing was right," she said.


Ahir claimed the police initially tried to move the van forward.


"They tried to accelerate a bit, but that didn't budge me," she recalled.


According to her, the officers told her that the detained protesters would be released after the van had travelled some distance. Ahir, however, wasn't satisfied with that explanation.


Her response was reportedly that if the protesters were going to be released anyway, there was no reason to wait.


She stayed in front of the vehicle until, according to her account, the detainees were eventually released.


The people who stepped out of the van then came over to thank her. Ahir said some of them even jokingly called her "a baddie" after seeing the way she had confronted the police.


The incident, meanwhile, had already begun taking on a life of its own online.


So, who is Rhiya Ahir?


Ahir is a 27-year-old model who has a sizeable social media following, with close to one lakh followers on Instagram.


She has also appeared in music videos, including Dilbara , her most recent appearance.


Until the protest, she was primarily known for her work in modelling and entertainment. But the viral footage has now introduced her to a much wider audience.

(Rhiya Ahir, a 27-yr-old model, blocks a police van hauling away protesters in Dadar Wednesday. She stepped back only after the protesters were let go.)

People have been particularly curious about her because of how unexpected the moment appeared. There was no elaborate speech or planned stunt. She saw the police van, reacted to what she believed was an unfair situation and stepped in.


Interestingly, Ahir had spoken about the protest before she even reached the demonstration.


In a video shared on social media, she showed viewers what she had chosen to wear and some of the precautions she was taking before heading out.


At one point, she held up her hat and joked, "This is a hat. If I get a stick on my head, you protect me from that."


The light-hearted comment also suggested that she knew the protest could potentially turn tense.

'I couldn't help myself'


The attention has been unexpected for Ahir.


She didn't set out that day expecting to become a viral sensation, nor did she appear to anticipate that a few seconds of footage would lead thousands of people to search for her identity.


But the moment has clearly struck a chord with people online.


Some have praised her for standing her ground, while others have debated the wider circumstances surrounding the protest and the police action. As with most viral moments, the reactions have been mixed.


For Ahir, however, the decision appears to have been much simpler.


She saw a situation she felt was wrong, and she decided she couldn't simply walk past it.


"I couldn't help myself," she said.


That one decision has now made Rhiya Ahir one of the most recognisable faces from the Mumbai protests. And while the internet may remember her for the striking image of a woman standing in front of a police van, her own account of the moment is far less dramatic.


She was scared. She was nervous. But she chose to stay where she was because, in that moment, she believed someone had to.


What was happening in Mumbai?


Ahir's confrontation with the police took place amid protests in Mumbai linked to the Cockroach Janta Party's agitation over alleged irregularities surrounding the NEET examination.


While the main CJP-led protest was taking place in Delhi, demonstrations and solidarity protests were also held in Mumbai.


The protests have since resulted in several police cases.


According to PTI, Mumbai Police registered 13 FIRs since July 18 in connection with the protests. The cases reportedly include allegations of unlawful assembly and violations of prohibitory orders, with around 400 people booked.


Demonstrations were reportedly held at several locations, including Shivaji Park, Chaityabhoomi, Chembur and Shiv Sena Bhavan . Police said the gatherings had not been officially permitted.


Authorities also imposed prohibitory restrictions across Mumbai from July 23 to August 6, restricting public gatherings of five or more people in public spaces.


Amid all of this, the image of Ahir standing in front of the police van quickly became one of the most widely shared moments from the protests.