The crowd which could not enter Jantar Mantar spilled onto nearby streets. (Tashi Tobgyal)

“Soon after, stones were thrown at the police. The Nihangs tried to intervene, but one of them wielded a weapon, injuring a protester. The police then fired tear gas shells for about five to 10 minutes. I believe most of us are here for the right cause, but some people are trying to create a ruckus,” he added.

Police said six of its officers, including two assistant commissioners of police (ACP), sustained head injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. Among the injured, while ACP Jai Prakash is posted in Punjabi Bagh, ACP Vivek Bhagat is posted in Connaught Place.

Jantar Mantar, meanwhile, saw farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, a group of Nihangs and Opposition leaders Kanimozhi and Brinda Karat coming to visit.

The chants grew louder and the crowd thicker, as fresh groups of protesters poured into the protest site, many after overnight journeys by bus and train.

By the time Karam (21) from Gurgaon reached Jantar Mantar with his friends in the afternoon, the protest site was already overflowing.

He couldn’t get in. Instead, he found himself standing shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of others on Tolstoy Road, where the crowd stretched from the LIC building towards Jantar Mantar.

Karam runs a marketing company and was among the many first-time protesters who had come after watching videos of the July 20 police action against demonstrators.

By Wednesday afternoon, the protest had spilled far beyond Jantar Mantar. Heavy police barricading shut large stretches of Tolstoy Road and parts of Sansad Marg to traffic, as thousands occupied the roads outside Jantar Mantar.

Mohit Gangwar (24) had travelled from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh because this year’s NEET paper leak was “the last straw”, he said. Watching Staff Selection Commission aspirants protest last year over cancelled examinations and technical glitches had already left him disturbed. But seeing his 23-year-old cousin lose yet another year after her third attempt at NEET pushed him to join the movement.

“She is so sad… she is 23 now, but still waiting to start her undergraduate degree. I couldn’t just sit at home while all this was happening,” he said.

As the day wore on, entry and exit queues grew longer.

The crowd cut across class lines, bringing together students, professionals, entrepreneurs and families. Karam, who described himself as coming from an upper middle class background, stood alongside students from modest households protesting against the same education system.

Hand-painted banners and satirical placards filled the humid air. Cardboard signs reading ‘A Govt That Can’t Tolerate Protest, Can’t Handle Democracy’ and ‘Nobody Funds Me, I Hate This Govt For Free’ reflected the mood of the crowd. Fresh black spray paint on a grey wall declared — ‘Gen-Z Revolution!!!!’

Nearby, youngsters waved the Tricolour.

Outside Jantar Mantar, a group of students sat on the road singing parody versions of popular songs, including ‘Modi Mera Dil Thooteya’. A little further away, an amateur guitarist drew a circle of listeners as he sang ‘Give Me Some Sunshine’.

Despite the anger directed at the government, the atmosphere often resembled that of a community gathering. Families with young children watched as students chanted, “Jab bhi Modi darta hai, police ko aage karta hai. (Whenever Modi gets scared, he puts the police in front)”.

Groups of office-goers who had taken leave clicked photographs with printed memes. School friends shared free food distributed at the site, including samosas, McAloo tikki burgers and Sitaram Chole Bhature.