Luthra Brothers allowed fireworks in nightclub despite knowing the risks: Police to court

Luthra brothers

In a submission that may play a vital role in booking the culprits in the fire tragedy in the nightclub ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’, the Goa police told a local court on Wednesday that the Luthra brothers knowingly permitted and organised fireworks inside their nightclub in Goa, where a fire killed 25 on December 6, without adopting any security measures.

A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days. Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.

“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.

“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.

The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand. The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.

They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations. Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.