Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra – the owners of the Goa nightclub where the fire claimed 25 lives – have fled to Thailand, officials said on Monday. Police have now sought Interpol’s help to track them down, PTI reported. Goa Police issued a statement on Monday, December 8 – a day after tragedy struck the Goa club – saying the owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclubs fled to Phuket, Thailand at 5.30am – hours after the massive fire broke out. They allegedly took an IndiGo plane.
Officials found that the owners had fled after launching a massive search following an FIR. Immigration records revealed the pair boarded IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket at 5.30am on Sunday, December 7 – just hours after the fire broke out around midnight.
To arrest the Goa nightclub owner, the authorities have now sought the help of Interpol to track down and arrest the promoters.
A senior official said the Luthras’ quick departure showed their “intention to evade police investigation”.
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The official said that soon after the FIR was lodged, the police moved quickly and sent a team to Delhi to conduct raids at the addresses of the two accused. “As they were not available, a notice under the relevant sections of the Act was pasted on the gate of their house,” the official said.
The Bureau of Immigration (BOI) also issued a Look Out Circular against both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the request of the Goa Police. But when they were tracked, officials found that they had left Delhi for Phuket in the early hours of December 7.
“The Goa police has taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol division of the CBI to arrest both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest,” he said.
While the owners remain abroad, police have arrested key operational employee Bharat Kohli, one of the management, from Delhi after obtaining his transit custody.
Earlier in the day, a Goa Police team visited Gaurav and Saurabh Luth’s house in Delhi and questioned their family members.
Who has been arrested so far? The nightclub’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur were arrested in connection with the fire.
Earlier in the day, Saurabh Luthra made his first statement on social media. In a statement, the club’s owner expressed his “deep sorrow” and promised to provide help, support and cooperation to the families of the victims “in all possible forms”.
In an Instagram post, Saurabh Luthra said, “The management expresses its deep sorrow and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of life resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birchi.”
Read also | What are the pyrotechnic weapons that started the fire at Goa’s Birch nightclub?
Management, it says, will extend every possible “form of assistance, support and cooperation to bereaved and affected individuals who are going through this period of immense anxiety and adversity.”
The Goa government on Monday constituted a four-member commission of inquiry to ascertain the facts and circumstances that led to the massive fire at a night club.
Officials said fireworks at a popular party spot in Arpora village, 25 km from Panaji, were the likely cause of the fire.
