Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa where a catastrophic fire killed 25 people on Saturday, have been detained by authorities in Phuket, Thailand. The blaze is suspected to have been caused by a cylinder explosion.
The brothers flew out of India within hours of the incident, taking an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Phuket less than five hours after the fire broke out. Police later issued a Look-Out Circular as well as an Interpol Blue Notice to trace them.
According to officials, a Goa Police team is expected to travel to Thailand to take the brothers into custody and facilitate their return to India.
Investigators found that the brothers booked their flight at 1:17 am on 7 December, at a time when firefighters and police were still battling the blaze and carrying out rescue operations at their club.
The Luthras subsequently refused to return to India, expressing fear of arrest. They moved a Rohini court in Delhi, seeking anticipatory bail and arguing that they were not involved in the day-to-day running of the nightclub and were being unfairly targeted. They also maintained that their travel to Thailand was for a business meeting and “not intended as an attempt to evade the investigation.”
The FIR registered by Goa Police states that Birch by Romeo Lane had no fire extinguishers, alarm systems, suppression equipment or fire audit, basic prerequisites for fire safety compliance. It further alleges that the owners, manager, partners, event organiser and senior staff “knowingly conducted a fire act without taking proper care and caution,” despite being fully aware of the risks involved.
The FIR also highlights the absence of emergency exits on both the deck and ground floor, leaving many guests trapped as the fire spread rapidly.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said efforts to trace the Luthra brothers had been intensified and warned that “other establishments must comply with safety norms or face strict action.” A second business owned by the brothers, a beach shack, was demolished on his orders for allegedly being illegally constructed and lacking safety safeguards.
So far, six people have been arrested, and three government officials have been suspended in connection with the incident.
