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Saurabh, Gaurav Luthra detained in Thailand; brothers being sent back to India | First Pics
Goa nightclub fire: The Luthras, who run the Romeo Lane restaurant chain with outlets, fled to Phuket hours after a massive blaze tore through the nightclub.
Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, wanted in connection with the Goa nightclub fire that killed 25 people, have been detained in Thailand, with the first images of their custody now emerging. The brothers are seen with their hands tied, clutching their passports as they stand beside Thai police officers in two separate photos released on Thursday.
The Luthras, who run the Romeo Lane restaurant chain with outlets across India and abroad, fled to Phuket hours after a massive blaze tore through Birch by Romeo Lane, their nightclub in North Goa’s Arpora village.
They face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence.
People familiar with the matter said the process to deport them to India to face trial is already underway.
Goa fire that killed 25
The fire broke out late Saturday night during a musical event attended by around 100 people, many of them tourists.
Videos from moments before the tragedy show performers dancing to Bollywood songs as electric firecrackers go off - a likely ignition source.
The venue’s extensive use of flammable decor, absence of functional extinguishers and alarms, and a narrow access road that forced fire engines to halt 400 metres away turned the club into a deadly trap. By the time the blaze was controlled, 25 people - five tourists and 20 staff - had died, most from inhaling toxic smoke in the basement.
The disaster triggered outrage in Goa at the height of the holiday season. Chief minister Pramod Sawant promised strict action as police arrested four staff members and began searching for the Luthra brothers.
Investigators later discovered the pair had booked flights within hours of the fire breaking out and had left the country before raids began at their Delhi residences. Their business partner, Ajay Gupta, has since been arrested in Delhi.
The brothers have approached a Delhi court seeking four weeks of transit anticipatory bail, insisting they are licensees, not owners, of the building where the club operated.
They argue they were out of India on a business trip and not trying to evade the investigation. They also said they were not present at the nightclub when the fire occurred.
Indian authorities will now press for their immediate deportation so they can face trial in Goa.
