The charred remains of the Birch by Romeo Lane restaurant after a fire broke out that claimed the lives of 25 people in Arpora on December 8, 2025. | Photo credit: ANI
Interpol has issued a blue notice against Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of a nightclub in Goa where a massive fire claimed 25 lives, to trace their whereabouts, officials said on Tuesday (Dec 9, 2025).
The Luthras have fled the country since the incident.
The Goa Police has approached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking an Interpol Blue Notice against Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, where the incident took place on Saturday (December 6).
The Luthras are believed to have fled to Phuket, Thailand, officials said.
A massive fire at a nightclub, about 25 km from Panaji, killed 25 people late on Saturday (December 6) night.
The dead included 20 nightclub employees and five tourists, including four from Delhi. Five injured people are being treated at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
The CBI immediately intervened and approached Interpol to issue a blue notice against the two.
Interpol’s color-coded notice alerts all 196 member countries of the Lyon-based organization to a member country’s request for specific information.
The Blue Notice is one of nine color-coded notices available from the International Agency for Police Cooperation. It is issued for the purpose of gathering additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in connection with a criminal investigation.
The next most wanted notice is a Red Notice, which calls for the apprehension of a fugitive and can only be issued after an indictment has been filed and a non-enforceable warrant has been issued against the wanted person. Seeks to locate and arrest persons wanted for prosecution or execution of sentence.
A yellow alert helps locate missing persons, often minors, or identify persons who cannot identify themselves. A black notice is issued to seek information on unidentified bodies. A Green Alert is used to warn of someone’s criminal activity when that person is considered a possible threat to public safety.
An orange alert warns of an event, person, object, or process posing a serious and imminent threat to public safety, while a purple alert seeks or provides information about the modus operandi, objects, devices, and concealment methods used by criminals.
Interpol United Nations Security Council Special Notices are issued for entities and individuals targeted by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.
The organization also piloted a Silver Alert earlier this year to track illicit assets.
Meanwhile, the Goa police have issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against another group of nightclub owners, Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, who is a British citizen, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma said in Panaji on Tuesday (December 9).
Two Goa government officials have also been asked to join the investigation.
The police have so far arrested five people – the night club’s general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivk Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and Bharat Kohli.
Published – 09 Dec 2025 21:08 IST
