According to sources in the know of the events, the two brothers who are associated with the disastrous Goa nightclub fire that resulted in the death of 25 people are reported to have been arrested in Thailand. They are now trying to start their deportation to India where they will be investigated and put on trial. The Goa government is seeking through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to have the passports of Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa, revoked. The brothers had gone out of India soon after the fateful December 6 fire in Arpora, which had made CBI seek an Interpol Blue Corner notice against them.
The Goa Police investigations have been alarming: the Luthra brothers supposedly had booked their flight tickets to Thailand at 1:17 am on December 7 when firefighters were still trying to suppress the fire at the nightclub. One of the officials reported that the firefighters and police were finding it difficult to save lives when the brothers were on the verge of leaving the country. The fact that they abruptly left aroused the suspicion surrounding their role and responsibility in the incident.
This court denied the brothers a plea to be given interim protection against arrest earlier this week. They were taken away to India by their legal team on the premise that they had not escaped India but had gone there on a business trip and that they were only license holders of the nightclub, and not the owners. They also asserted that the day to day running was done by the management personnel thus the brothers were not directly involved.
In the meantime, Goa Police have detained five employees of the management of the nightclub with regards to the fire, which broke at around mid-night and spread very quickly on the property, being only about 25 km away at Panaji. Indian officials are liaising with the Thai officials in order to hasten the deportation process.
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant wrote that the inquiry report about the tragedy would be done within eight days.
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