Goa fire: Luthras booked air tickets at 1:17 am; police deny ‘assisted escape’
The Goa police said while their officers and Fire Services were battling the blaze and rescuing those trapped, the accused were preparing to flee the country
The Goa police on Wednesday denied allegations that delay on their part allowed the fugitive Luthra brothers to flee the country for Phuket in Thailand, hours after the fire incident at their nightclub in north Goa on Saturday night that killed 25 people.
In a statement, the police said that Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the main accused in the case, booked their tickets at 1.17 am on Sunday, barely one and a half hours after the fire broke out.
The tickets were booked online via MakeMyTrip (MMT) platform.
“The Goa police investigation has revealed that the Luthra brothers booked tickets to Thailand on MMT platform at 1:17 AM on 7th December. While Goa Police and Fire Services were battling the blaze and rescuing those trapped, the accused were preparing to flee the country,” Goa Police public relations officer (PRO) Nilesh Rane said.
ALSO READ | Goa nightclub fire: No immediate relief from court to Birch owners Luthra brothers, they cry 'witch-hunt'
“The allegation of an “assisted escape” is completely false. Goa Police and all assisting agencies were at the site throughout the night until 6:00 AM carrying out rescue operations, dousing the fire, and recovering the victims. The accused left on a 5:30 AM flight, meaning they fled immediately after learning of the incident and before the scale of the tragedy was even known,” the police said.
“The fire occurred in the early hours of 7th December, and Goa Police and Emergency Services were on site till 6 AM for rescue and recovery. Goa Police has already initiated international coordination through INTERPOL to trace and arrest the accused as per legal procedure,” the police also said.
ALSO READ | Luthra brothers flee to Thailand after Goa fire kills 25: Can they be extradited? What the treaty says
The police have so far arrested six people including four managerial level staff, Bharat Singh Kohli, a man identified as overseeing the operations of the club on behalf of the Luthras and Ajay Gupta, a business partner of the Luthras.
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday warned that the local village panchayat secretary, who continues to evade police summons, would be arrested if he didn’t turn up to record his statement.
