Police said on late Monday evening that the two owners of the Goa nightclub where 25 people perished in a devastating fire fled India for Thailand just hours after the tragedy occurred on Saturday night. Until this revelation, the police had been actively searching for them across the country.
Soon after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against them, a Goa Police team rushed to Delhi to locate the accused brothers, Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra. Upon reaching their residence, the officers found the house locked and the duo absent, prompting the team to paste a notice at the premises.
Following a formal request from the Goa Police, the Bureau of Immigration issued a lookout circular against both individuals. A lookout circular ensures that immigration authorities at all airports, seaports, and other exit points across India are alerted to prevent the named persons from leaving the country.
However, immigration records examined at Mumbai airport revealed that the two brothers had already slipped out of India. They boarded an early-morning IndiGo flight 6E-1073 at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday and flew to Phuket, Thailand – barely hours after the fatal fire broke out at their nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, in north Goa. At the time of the blaze, the brothers were in Delhi.
Notably, IndiGo’s international operations, including this flight, remained unaffected by the pilot rostering crisis that had severely disrupted the airline’s domestic network in India.
“It is clear that the two wanted to avoid the police investigation,” a senior police officer said.
Sources confirmed that the Goa Police have now approached the Interpol division of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to coordinate an urgent international operation to locate and arrest the absconding brothers at the earliest.
Also Read: 25 dead in Goa nightclub fire after cylinder blast; 4 arrested
Meanwhile, the third accused in the case, Bharat Kohli, who was arrested in Delhi, has been brought to Goa and is currently being interrogated.
Officials from various government departments responsible for issuing permits and licences to the nightclub have also been summoned for detailed questioning to probe possible regulatory and procedural violations.
The police reiterated that the investigation is being conducted on top priority and strict action will be taken against all those found responsible upon conclusion of the probe.
In a related development, the Goa government had earlier suspended Shamila Monteiro, Director of Fisheries and former Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, citing serious regulatory lapses, an official said.
Also Read: Goa Nightclub Tragedy: Pyroguns, narrow lanes reason for fire
Follow us
