Before India can put the Luthra brothers – Gaurav and Saurabh, owners of the Goa nightclub where a devastating fire killed 25 people – on trial for alleged negligence and murder, it has to get them back in the country.
The brothers took an early morning flight on Monday, just hours after the midnight fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora on Sunday, and fled to Phuket in Thailand.
According to officials, fireworks have emerged as the likely cause of the blaze at the popular party venue in Arpora village, 25 km from Panaji.
Fire officials had said earlier that the club, located on the backwater of the Arpora river, had small exit doors connected only by a narrow bridge, which severely hampered the escape of people during the blaze.
The owners’ escape was discovered after a massive manhunt was launched following the filing of an FIR. During the investigation, it was found from immigration records that the duo took an IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket at 5:30 am on Sunday.
The Luthras had built up the Romeo Lane chain across multiple cities – including Delhi, Goa and Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar – after their first venture in Delhi, nightclub Mama’s Buoi, became a runaway hit.
A senior official said that this swift exit by Luthras shows their “intent to avoid the police investigation.”
The official said soon after an FIR was filed, police moved swiftly and dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the two accused.
A lookout circular has been issued against them, and efforts are underway to seek the help of Interpol and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to bring them back.
While the owners remain abroad, the police have arrested key operational staff Bharat Kohli, one of the members of the management, from Delhi after obtaining his transit remand.
So far, the club’s Chief General Manager Rajiv Modak, General Manager Vivek Singh, Bar Manager Rajiv Singhania, and Gate Manager Riyanshu Thakur have been arrested.
India also has the option of invoking the extradition treaty it signed with Thailand in 2013 to get the custody of the accused brothers.
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