Goa Police expects Luthra brothers to be deported from Thailand early next week
The Goa Police said deportation procedures of Luthra brothers were under process and it was in continuous coordination with the central agencies
PANAJI: The Goa Police expects to get custody of the Luthra brothers, who fled to Thailand hours after a deadly fire claimed 25 lives at a north Goa nightclub, by early next week, people familiar with the investigation said, underlining that the Indian side has been in close contact with the Thai authorities to ensure they are deported at the earliest.
Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who run a network of nightclubs and restaurants styled under the brand name Romeo Lane in several cities in India and abroad, were apprehended in Thailand after Indian authorities impounded their passports and the Interpol issued a blue notice against them.
Also Read: How chain of violations triggered Goa nightclub fire
“Deportation procedures of Luthra brothers are currently under process and Goa Police is in continuous coordination with the central agencies,” the state police said in a statement on Friday.
So far, investigators have arrested six people including four managers, chief general manager of the club Rajiv Modak, 49; gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, 32, both residents of Delhi; bar manager Rajveer Singhania, 32, and general manager Vivek Singh, 27, both residents of Uttar Pradesh.
Ajay Gupta, a business partner of the Luthras and Bharat Singh Kohli, who was said to be managing the day-to-day operations of the club on behalf of the Luthras, have also been arrested.
An official with the investigation revealed that the police have recorded the statements of 50 witnesses so far.
“Over 50 statements have been recorded so far of the persons connected with this incident which also includes officials, workers and victims,” the police official said.
According to the Goa Police, its investigations have indicated that the Luthras applied for permission using a forged copy of a land agreement to secure permissions -- even as a dispute over the ownership of the land is pending before a civil court.
Village sarpanch Roshan Redkar and Arpora village panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, who were under a cloud over the grant of approval for the the club from an unauthorised structure on the land, finally turned up before the police to record their statements after securing interim protection from arrest from a local court. The judge adjourned the hearing on Friday after the Goa Police sought time to respond to their application for pre-arrest bail
“The Goa Police sought time to file a detailed reply, and the court has granted time until December 16 at 2:30 pm for filing the reply and for arguments,” Nitin Sardesai, lawyer for the applicants, said.
Twenty-five people, including four from a Delhi family, were killed and six injured after a massive fire tore through their nightclub – Birch by Romeo Lane – in the coastal village of Arpora in north Goa around 11.45 pm on Saturday.
Authorities have said that even as firefighters were struggling to control the fire, the two brothers booked tickets to Thailand at 1.17 am on Sunday and flew out at 5.30 am the same day. A lookout notice against them was issued roughly 24 hours later.
The authorities have said electrically detonated pyroguns shot off during a belly dancing programme likely caused the deadly blaze. A combination of factors — key safety lapses, including an inadequate number of exits and use of pyroguns, a thatched roof and stacks of alcohol — intensified the fire, causing it to engulf the 300-square metre establishment in a matter of minutes.
In the first information report at 9.30am on Sunday, the police booked the brothers along with other unnamed individuals for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (section 105), for acts endangering the lives and personal safety of others (125 (a) (b)), and for negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter (section 287) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The four managers were the first to be arrested. On Monday, the police arrested Bharat Singh Kohli, 49, a resident of Punjabi Basti in New Delhi. On Friday, Kohli’s custody was extended by an additional six days after he was produced.
The club’s co-owner Ajay Gupta was arrested on Wednesday after he was discharged from a private hospital in Lajpat Nagar where he was admitted for back issues. Gupta was brought to Goa and remanded in police custody for seven days on Thursday.
On Friday, however, Gupta was admitted to a government-run hospital after he complained of recurring back issues. Gupta has claimed he was only a silent partner in the Romeo Lane venture and did not play a role in the club’s operations.
Government officials who granted approvals to the nightclub have also been summoned by a parallel magisterial inquiry currently underway.
