On 1 April, the district court in Goa granted bail to brothers Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra for their part in the fire that killed 25 people at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub on December 6-7; of those 25 people, 5 were tourists, and 20 were members of staff.
Although the Luthras obtained bail in relation to the fire, they will remain in judicial custody due to an unrelated case in which the two are accused of forgery for allegedly using forged documents to obtain the licenses to operate the nightclub. Just a few days before the two were provided bail in relation to the fire, the court had denied their motion for anticipatory bail on the forgery charge.
The deadly fire was reportedly started on the night of December 6-7 when electrically triggered pyro sparkler devices were used during a performance causing the wooden woven bamboo/natural material ceiling of the club to ignite rapidly causing many patrons to be trapped inside the club.
After the fire, the two brothers were, reportedly, hiding in Thailand, but had to return to India after Interpol issued a notice for their arrest and their passports were suspended. The Luthras were arrested on December 16, 2022, and have been in custody ever since their arrest.