An IT employee, a student and a woman filmmaker were among the protesters at Park Circus Maidan on Thursday against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register.

Rahul Kumar, 34, who works in an IT company, said he took a bus from outside his office in New Town around 4pm after telling his team manager he wanted to join the protest at Park Circus Maidan.

Noor Jahan Shakin, 80, at the protest venue on Thursday. The Broad Street resident spends a few hours on the ground daily

A group of women has been on a sit-in on the ground since January 7 to protest the CAA, NRC and the NPR.

Kumar, who hails from Darbhanga in Bihar, lives in a rented accommodation in New Town. He said he wanted to join the protest — his first — because he felt the women were doing an “incredibly powerful and inspiring” thing.

He had a black and white poster that read: “Unity is our politics. Unity is our policy.”

“The act is pure evil. It is unconstitutional and we cannot stay back in our offices and houses and keep posting on social media. We need to be out on the streets,” Kumar said.

As cries of “Aarey tum bhi bolo... Azaadi! (Lend your voice to Azaadi!)” rang out, many waved the Tricolour. The crowd started swelling from afternoon and by evening there were close to 1,000 men, women and children.

Documentary filmmaker Ratna Saha Roy is among the women who have been spending the nights at Park Circus since January 7

Shouting slogans, Jadavpur resident and documentary filmmaker Ratna Saha Roy showed little signs of being tired though she has been spending nights in the open on the ground along with other women.

She termed the experience “tough and fulfilling”. “People come in late at night, shout slogans, sing songs... it is surreal. Complete strangers offer us tea, fruits and food. Everyone of these women has lots of work at home but they make it a point to be here. This in itself is amazing.”

Alveena Aafreen, a Class X student, said she came as soon as her tuition got over. “I had requested my tutor to come an hour early.... I will be here till 10pm, helping volunteers to distribute tea and biscuits.”