In a dramatic turn of events, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a catastrophic fire claimed 25 lives, have been taken into custody in Thailand and are likely to be extradited to India soon, sources confirmed on Thursday.
The brothers, who fled India in the early hours of Sunday as their nightclub burned, were tracked down to Phuket. Their arrest caps a frantic international manhunt initiated after the Goa Police suspended their passports and requested the Ministry of External Affairs to revoke them. The move comes amidst widespread public outrage over the tragedy, which preliminary investigations suggest was a result of multiple safety hazards and blatant compliance violations at the popular venue in Arpora, North Goa.
Investigators revealed a chilling sequence of events. While emergency teams battled the blaze and attempted to rescue trapped patrons on the night of December 6, the Luthra brothers were allegedly booking their escape. Officials state they logged into the MakeMyTrip platform at 1:17 am on December 7 to book flights. Just half an hour later, at around 1:47 am, they left for the airport, fully aware of the raging fire and that people, including their own staff, were trapped inside.
Immigration records confirm they boarded IndiGo flight 6E 1073 from Delhi to Phuket, which departed at 5:30 am on Sunday.
“They fled the country while the disaster was unfolding. This act itself speaks volumes,” a senior police official involved in the investigation stated.
The brothers’ attempts to secure legal protection ahead of a potential return have so far failed. On Wednesday, a Delhi court rejected their plea for anticipatory bail and interim protection from arrest. They had sought four weeks of transit anticipatory bail, claiming they needed protection from immediate arrest upon their return from Thailand.
The net around the case is tightening, with six arrests made so far. The latest is Ajay Gupta, a partner of the owner’s brother, who was detained in Delhi on Tuesday and taken to Goa on a transit remand on Wednesday.
The fire, which broke out late on Saturday night, turned an evening of entertainment into a nightmare. The club was hosting a musical event with approximately 100 people, mostly tourists, inside. Disturbing videos from earlier in the evening show a performer and musicians energetically performing to Bollywood hits, with electric firecrackers being used as part of the show. Preliminary findings strongly suggest these pyrotechnics ignited the highly flammable interior deco, primarily made of bamboo and cloth, leading to the rapid spread of the fire.
The tragedy, one of the deadliest in Goa's recent history, has sparked a massive review of safety protocols at hospitality and entertainment venues across the coastal state. Questions are being raised about how a venue with such apparent safety violations was allowed to operate.
As the Luthra brothers await repatriation, the focus for authorities now shifts to ensuring a swift and thorough investigation, followed by a trial that delivers justice for the 25 lives tragically lost.
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