An FIR has been registered in Goa over a candlelight march held in support of Sonam Wangchuk and the CJP-led student protest
July 22, 2026: Goa Police on Wednesday registered an FIR over a candlelight march organised at Miramar Beach earlier this week in solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk and students participating in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. According to the complaint filed by Nilesh Salgaonkar, Joint Mamlatdar and Executive Magistrate of Tiswadi, the organisers allegedly held the protest without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority. The case has been registered under Sections 189 and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to unlawful assembly.
Despite the police action, protesters assembled again at Azad Maidan on Wednesday evening to express solidarity with the ongoing demonstrations in the national capital. Meanwhile, the Goa BJP staged a separate protest outside the Congress headquarters, accusing the Opposition of encouraging “sponsored anarchy” and disrupting public order. State BJP president Damodar Naik criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s protest near the Prime Minister’s residence, describing it as an attack on the country’s democratic institutions.
The political controversy also intensified over remarks made by Goa BJP vice president Narendra Sawaikar, who faced criticism after referring to protesters as “cockroaches” and “termites” in social media posts. Sawaikar shared an AI-generated image depicting insects damaging a map of India, drawing sharp backlash. While his Facebook post was later deleted, the post on X remained accessible at the time of reporting.