Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers to land in Delhi today, likely to be flown to Goa next

Luthra brothers

Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of a Goa nightclub where a deadly fire killed 25 people earlier this month, are expected to be deported from Thailand to India on Tuesday, officials said.

The two brothers will arrive at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on an IndiGo flight from Bangkok around 1.45 pm, according to a report by TOI.

A joint team from the Delhi Police Crime Branch and Goa Police will take them into custody on arrival and produce them before the Patiala House Court in Delhi to seek transit remand. After completing the legal formalities, the brothers are likely to be flown to Goa by Tuesday night, Goa Director General of Police Alok Kumar said.

The Luthra brothers are accused in connection with the December 6 fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa’s Arpora area. The blaze broke out around 11.45 pm during a crowded event attended by more than 150 people, leading to the death of 25 persons.

According to officials, the brothers fled India and reached Thailand even as police and fire personnel were still carrying out rescue operations at the nightclub. Following their escape, the regional passport office in New Delhi issued notices asking them to explain why their passports should not be impounded.

After a lookout circular was issued against them, the Ministry of External Affairs suspended their passports, leaving them without valid travel documents.

As a result, Thai authorities detained the brothers from a hotel in Phuket for staying in the country illegally and later shifted them to a detention centre in Bangkok. The Indian Embassy in Thailand then issued emergency certificates, which are one-way travel documents, to facilitate their return to India.

A special team comprising officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation and intelligence agencies had travelled to Phuket last Saturday to complete the deportation process.

India and Thailand have an extradition treaty that was signed in 2013 and came into force in 2015, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Goa Police investigation has revealed serious violations by the nightclub. Investigators said Birch by Romeo Lane had been operating illegally for the past 18 months without the required permissions and on an expired licence.

A senior police officer said the licence had not been renewed as the establishment failed to obtain mandatory approvals since 2024. Despite these lapses, no action was taken by authorities against the nightclub.

So far, several arrests have been made in the case, including Ajay Gupta (55), a partner of the Luthra brothers, and multiple staff members and managers of the nightclub.

A preliminary probe by police and the Directorate of Fire Services found that the fire was triggered when electric firecrackers hit the wooden ceiling, causing it to catch fire and spread rapidly.