Goa club owners fled to Phuket via Indigo flight hours after deadly fire that killed 25, say police
PTC News Desk: Hours after the deadly inferno broke out at Goa's nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, killing at least 25 people late on Saturday night, police officials said that the owners have fled to Phuket. Until now the police had been looking for them.
Right after an FIR was registered against them, a police team went to Delhi to look for the two accused — Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra. However, they were not found at their home, so the police left a notice there.
The police also asked the Bureau of Immigration to issue a lookout circular, which alerts authorities at airports and ports across the country to stop people who are wanted.
Immigration officials at Mumbai airport later discovered that the two had already flown to Phuket, Thailand, at 5:30 am on Sunday — just a few hours after the deadly fire incident. The brothers were in Delhi when the fire broke out at their nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, in North Goa. They took IndiGo flight 6E-1073 to flee to Thailand. International IndiGo flights were running normally despite widespread disruptions in domestic services due to crew shortages.
The police said it was clear the two were trying to evade the investigation.
According to sources, Goa Police have contacted the Interpol wing of the CBI to help arrest the two accused as quickly as possible.
A third accused, Bharat Kohli, was arrested in Delhi and brought to Goa for questioning.
Officials from various departments responsible for issuing the club’s licences and permissions have been called for questioning to check for compliance failures and procedural violations. The police said the investigation is being fast-tracked and further action will be based on the findings.
Earlier, the Goa government suspended Shamila Monteiro — Director of Fisheries and former Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board — over alleged regulatory lapses.
- With inputs from agencies
