MUMBAI: Model and actor Rhiya Ahir blocked a Mumbai Police van for about 40 minutes on Wednesday, July 22, until officers released the detained student protesters inside.
Ahir, 27, encountered the vehicle in Dadar while walking towards a Cockroach Janta Party protest at Shivaji Park, The Indian Express reported on July 24.
She said she asked officers why they were taking the protesters away and whether they had a warrant. Ahir then stood directly in the van’s path after her attempts to reason with the officers failed.
The confrontation continued in heavy rain as other protesters gathered behind her. Ahir said she felt frightened but refused to move because she believed the detentions were unjustified.
A video of a young woman standing with arms outstretched to stop a police van has emerged as one of the defining faces of the ongoing protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. Despite repeated warnings, she refused to move until the detained protesters were released, saying,… pic.twitter.com/xxMtNse1gb
— Salar News (@EnglishSalar) July 23, 2026“I just did the Bombay thing,” she told The Indian Express while describing her decision to stop the vehicle.
India Today reported that other demonstrators joined Ahir before the officers released the detainees. Videos and photographs of the standoff subsequently spread across social media.
The demonstration supported the CJP’s nationwide campaign over alleged NEET paper leaks, examination irregularities and police action against protesters. The movement had demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
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Ahir said the Mumbai demonstration marked her first participation in a protest. She works as a model and actor and is pursuing English literature through distance education at the University of Mumbai.
Pradhan resigned on July 25. The CJP later called off its demonstrations after the federal government accepted the movement’s demands.
