A district court in Mapusa, North Goa, has allowed Ajay Gupta, the co-owner of the night club known as Birch by Romeo Lane, to be released on bail more than three months after his arrest in relation to a disastrous fire that killed 25 persons. Gupta, who was arrested in New Delhi last December following the tragedy, was released from custody on Tuesday, his legal counsel Rohan Desai said.
The fire, which broke out on December 6 at the Arpora-based venue, remains one of the deadliest industrial accidents in recent state history.
Investigations by the Goa police revealed that the inferno was sparked by a firework display held inside the club, despite a total lack of adequate safety equipment.
Crucially, officers alleged that the club’s owners — Gupta and his partners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra — proceeded with the pyrotechnic show knowing full well that the building lacked the necessary emergency exit doors on the ground and deck floors required for a safe evacuation.
The legal fallout has extended beyond the nightclub's management to local government officials. In January, the Goa government took the significant step of dismissing the Arpora Village Panchayat Sarpanch, Roshan Redkar, and the Panchayat Secretary, Raghuvir Bagkar, citing "persistent negligence." A Magisterial Inquiry Committee report found that the Sarpanch had presided over meetings where blatant irregularities regarding the venue were either overlooked or tacitly approved.
The inquiry further highlighted that the establishment had originally been a temporary shed before being converted into a full-scale nightclub without any building plans or official "sanad" for land conversion. Characterising the disaster as a "breach of public trust," the Directorate of Panchayats scathingly questioned the integrity of the local authorities in its report, asking: “What will happen if the protectors themselves become poachers?” While Gupta has now secured bail, criminal proceedings under several sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 continue against all three co-owners.
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