Goa Police vs Luthras: Murder charges, midnight escape, and a claim of willing return from Phuket
The Goa nightclub fire that killed 25 has led to the detention of co-owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra in Thailand. The Goa govt aims to bring them back ASAP.
The hunt for accountability in the devastating North Goa nightclub fire last weekend - which claimed 25 lives - has turned into a high-stakes face-off between the Goa Police and the Luthra brothers - Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra - co-owners of Birch by Romeo Lane where the deadly blaze broke out.
Gaurav (44) and 40-year old Saurabh Luthra, who fled India hours after the fire, were detained in Thailand, officials confirmed on Thursday, hours after which a Delhi court rejected their transit anticipatory bail pleas.
The court was hearing two bail pleas by the accused persons seeking four weeks of transit anticipatory bail so that they would not be immediately arrested after their return to Delhi from Thailand.
The Goa government has maintained a firm stance: the brothers will be brought back at the earliest to face the full force of the law.
Goa Police vs Luthra brothers over nightclub fire probe
In court, the state's lawyer underscored the government's position with a pointed remark: "They left, they concealed, and they are now seeking leniency," according to PTI news agency. The lawyer highlighted that the duo allegedly fled immediately after the incident and evaded the legal process.
One of the brothers' lawyers countered by saying that the Luthras were ready to “return immediately and face the investigation”.
Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket on an IndiGo flight within hours after the fire broke out at their club, Goa Police had earlier said. An Interpol Blue Corner notice was issued on December 9 following a request from the Goa police routed through the CBI.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana, dismissing the brothers' anticipatory bail, noted that the offence was serious in nature as 25 people lost their lives in the fire. Given the “conduct” of the applicants and nature of the allegations, the court was not inclined to grant them relief, the judge said.
She pointed out that documents showed that the accused booked tickets to Phuket at 1.17 am on December 7 (over an hour after the fire broke out), and the flight departed at 5.20 am.
This fact was “concealed”, and their counsel instead stated that they had left for Thailand before the fire broke out, the judge said, per PTI.
The court also dismissed the medical grounds - seizure disorder and hypertension - cited by Gaurav Luthra, noting that his own lawyer stated that his condition was not such that he cannot travel to another country. The medical documents were old, and do not reflect any serious medical conditions, the judge reportedly said.
The court rejected the argument about there being an “immediate threat” to the lives of Luthra brothers, “The action taken by the investigating authority or by the court, as per law, cannot be said to be an apprehension of threat to life,” the court was quoted as saying.
‘Murder by organising fire show’
The Goa police said the two brothers are accused of injury causing death, manslaughter and murder by organising a fire show "without taking proper care and caution and without providing fire safety equipment, other safety gadgets," PTI reported on Thursday.
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant reaffirmed the government's resolve, assuring that a joint Goa Police-CBI team would bring the brothers back "as soon as possible".
As images circulated online on Thursday showing the detained brothers in handcuffs, Union minister Shripad Naik offered said outside Parliament, "Yes, both of them are arrested", adding, "Where will they run."
Meanwhile, the crackdown in Goa continued. Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner in the nightclub, was remanded in seven days' police custody. "I don't know anything. I have no involvement. I was a sleeping partner and had no say in the operations of the club," he told reporters as police escorted him.
Authorities continued shutting down illegal operations, sealing ‘Goya The Night Club’ in Vagator for being constructed on agricultural land, and imposing a statewide ban on fireworks, pyrotechnics, flame-throwers, and similar devices at tourist establishments - a direct response to the fire show that allegedly triggered the tragedy.
The Luthra brothers have been named as accused in the fire probe as scrutiny of Birch by Romeo Lane revealed that the establishment was flouting safety norms and was also constructed illegally.
The Goa government also banned the use of fireworks, sparklers, pyrotechnic effects, flame thrower-type devices, smoke generators and similar equipment inside tourist establishments.
