‘Hit my sister on chest’: Woman accuses Luthras’ Goa club of assault before deadly blaze

The woman alleged that the manager grabbed her cousin by the collar and spoke to them in a rude and insulting manner.

Days after the tragic fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa killed 25 people, a woman has come forward with serious allegations against the club’s manager and security staff. The woman, identified as Vaibhavi, said she and her family were physically assaulted during a visit to the club last month.

The incident she described took place at Romeo Lane, a beach shack-style nightclub located in Vagator. Speaking to news agency ANI, Vaibhavi said the club felt overcrowded, with only one entrance and one exit. Both openings were placed at a height, making it difficult for people to move in or out quickly, she said.

“When we were leaving the club around 3 am, a heavy chair was in our way. My cousin shifted it aside with his foot... The manager came to us and said, 'You are damaging the furniture; we should have thrown you out earlier. You don't have the status to be here’,” she said.

#WATCH | Mumbai | Vaibhavi, who visited the beach shack Romeo Lane Vagator owned by the detained Luthra brothers in November, said, "I visited Romeo Lane in Vagator on 1st November with my cousins. We were 13 people in total... The club is built in such a way that it is very… pic.twitter.com/9HDE6r5pSU

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2025

She alleged that the manager grabbed her cousin by the collar and spoke to them in a rude and insulting manner.

When the family tried to apologise and leave, the situation escalated. Vaibhavi claimed that the manager called the security guards and bouncers.

“They started chasing us and raised their hands at us. Since it was tough to leave that club, they chased us down and hit people in groups. They hit my sister on the chest, pushed her so badly that she fell down the stairs... They put up a barricade at the entry gate so we couldn't leave... When my brother removed it, a bouncer ran towards him with a rod and started hitting him badly... When I pushed the bouncer to stop him, he hit me too… They were using such bad language towards us that I had never heard before,” she said.

The woman said that the next morning, they went to the police because they were badly injured. After several attempts, an FIR was finally registered at the Anjuna Police Station. Vaibhavi stated that she had named the club’s owners, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, in her complaint, but police later removed their names, saying the owners were not present at the time of the incident.

The same owners later boarded an IndiGo flight from New Delhi to Phuket just hours after the deadly fire. They have since been detained in Thailand and are expected to be deported.