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Nation / Thu, 20 Aug 2026 India Today

Mumbai model who stopped police van seeks FIR withdrawal, action against threats

Model Riya Ahir, who came into the spotlight after she stopped a police van during the Gen Z protest in Mumbai, has appealed to the police to withdraw the FIR registered against her. She has also sought strict action against people she alleged were issuing threats to her on social media. A delegation of the Mumbai Youth Congress met Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Manoj Sharma and raised concerns over the FIR and the online harassment Ahir has been facing. The delegation that accompanied Ahir to the Mumbai Police Commissioner's Office included Youth Congress national secretary Hargun Singh and Mumbai Youth Congress president Zeenat Shabreen. The photograph of Ahir, in a grey hoodie and standing firmly to block the van, became one of the most striking images from the Mumbai protests.

Model Riya Ahir, who came into the spotlight after she stopped a police van during the Gen Z protest in Mumbai, has appealed to the police to withdraw the FIR registered against her. She has also sought strict action against people she alleged were issuing threats to her on social media.

A delegation of the Mumbai Youth Congress met Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Manoj Sharma and raised concerns over the FIR and the online harassment Ahir has been facing.

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According to Youth Congress leaders, Sharma assured the delegation that the process to withdraw the FIR would be started soon and that police would investigate those responsible for sending threatening messages to her.

After the meeting, Ahir said she had been receiving abusive comments and threats on social media ever since the protest and her video went viral. She alleged that despite filing a complaint with the police, no concrete action had been taken so far.

The delegation that accompanied Ahir to the Mumbai Police Commissioner's Office included Youth Congress national secretary Hargun Singh and Mumbai Youth Congress president Zeenat Shabreen. Singh questioned the delay in withdrawing the FIRs, saying a notification for the withdrawal of cases against students involved in the protest had already been issued.

Ahir also said that Muskan, a 19-year-old who had taken part in the protest, was facing a similar wave of abusive comments and threats on social media.

Shabreen said young women were being punished merely for expressing their views and demanded immediate police action against the social media accounts involved in harassment and intimidation.

Ahir had become the face of the protest after a viral image from the rain-soaked demonstration at Shivaji Park in Dadar on July 22 showed her standing in front of a police van carrying detained young protesters. The photograph of Ahir, in a grey hoodie and standing firmly to block the van, became one of the most striking images from the Mumbai protests.

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