NEW DELHI: A woman at Jantar Mantar on Friday was seen attempting to stop a police vehicle carrying detained protesters during the protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in a moment that drew comparisons with Rhiya Ahir’s viral protest visual from Mumbai.In visuals from the protest, the woman can be seen standing in the path of the police vehicle as it moves through the area.The footage showed her attempting to intervene as protesters were being taken away.The incident comes as activists and civil society groups gathered at Jantar Mantar on October 2 to protest against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.The protest had been announced amid demands for action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.Delhi Police had earlier said permission for the proposed gathering had not been granted and had put up barricades around the Jantar Mantar area.The visual quickly recalled a similar scene from Mumbai in July, when model Rhiya Ahir was photographed standing in front of a Mumbai Police van carrying detained student protesters at a Shivaji Park protest.The image went viral and became one of the defining visuals of the Mumbai student protests.Ahir later sought withdrawal of an FIR registered against her and action against people allegedly threatening her on social media.She had stepped in front of the police van during the July 22 protest and, according to TOI, refused to move while demanding the release of detained students.The identity of the woman seen in Friday’s Delhi video and her reason for attempting to stop the police vehicle could not be independently confirmed.There is also no confirmed connection between the woman and Ahir; the comparison stems from the similarity between the two protest visuals.The CJP protest in Delhi came days after the organisation announced a nationwide agitation against Gyanesh Kumar.In Mumbai, CJP activists and civil society organisations also held a protest at Shivaji Park on Friday, with heavy police deployment at the venue.
