Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Luthra brothers — owners of the Goa nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane — have filed an anticipatory bail plea, which the Sessions Court is expected to take up today, their legal team confirmed. This comes even as Goa Police arrested the driver of Saurabh Luthra, widening the investigation into the Arpora inferno that claimed 25 lives last week.
Meanwhile, district authorities have begun demolishing structures linked to the brothers, including portions of the Romeo Lane restaurant in Vagator. Officials say the establishment stood on government land and had earlier been sealed for violations.
The probe remains focused on the catastrophic fire at Birch by Romeo Lane. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has announced that the beach shack operated by the brothers will also be demolished. Police are examining multiple angles, including possible negligence.
Goa DIG Varsha Sharma confirmed coordination with the CBI and Interpol, adding that a Blue Corner Notice has been issued. According to police sources, brothers Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra flew from Delhi to Phuket on December 7, just hours after the tragedy. The international notice aims to track and provisionally detain them ahead of extradition-related processes.
On Wednesday, police brought Ajay Gupta — one of the four partners at Birch by Romeo Lane — to the Sunlight Colony Crime Branch office for questioning. He is expected to be produced in court later in the day. Gupta had earlier gone missing from his Delhi residence, leading to a Lookout Circular and later a non-bailable warrant.
The fire, which erupted in the early hours of Sunday, killed at least 25 people, most of them staffers. In response, the Goa government has constituted a committee to probe the incident and identify accountability lapses.
