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Goa cops to leave for Thailand in a few days, will bring Luthra brothers ASAP: CM
Club co-owner Ajay Gupta, who was arrested in Delhi,was produced before a Goa judge and remanded in police custody for seven days
PANAJI: A joint team of the Goa Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will leave for Thailand in a few days to secure the custody of the fugitive Luthra brothers, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday, adding that he expected the two to be brought to the state “as soon as possible.”
Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the north Goa nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, are accused of regulatory violations in the operation of the club, where 25 people were killed in a devastating fire that started late on Saturday.
Also Read: Setback for Luthra brothers as court denies anticipatory bail ahead of deportation
Sawant said the two have been detained by the Thai police on a request by India in connection with the culpable homicide not amounting to murder case registered against them in Goa.
“With the help of the Government of India, central agencies with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), we were able to detain them this morning. In a few days, the Goa Police and the CBI police will go there and bring them to Goa,” Sawant said.
“I’m happy to note that the police and the central agencies were able to fast-track work promptly to ensure their detention. They will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Sawant also said.
News of the detention of the Luthra brothers in Thailand came a day after the state police approached MEA to revoke their passports.
Police said the two brothers, the club’s primary owners, booked their tickets to flee to Phuket, Thailand, 90 minutes after the massive blaze at the establishment began.
“The Goa police investigation has revealed that the Luthra brothers booked tickets to Thailand on MMT platform at 1.17 AM on 7th December. While Goa Police and Fire Services were battling the blaze and rescuing those trapped, the accused were preparing to flee the country,” Goa Police public relations officer Nilesh Rane said on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the club’s co-owner Ajay Gupta, who was arrested in Delhi on Wednesday and brought to Goa on a transit remand, was produced before a local judge and remanded in police custody for six days.
Gupta, who is listed as one of the partners in Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, told reporters outside the court that he had no role in the club’s operations. “I am a sleeping partner. I have no role in the operations,” Gupta said. A sleeping partner, also referred to as a silent partner, refers to an investor who does not take an active role in a company’s operations.
His lawyer, Adv Rohan Dessai, said that his client was cooperating with the investigation.
It is alleged that Ajay Gupta was in Goa at the time of the incident, but flew to Delhi the following morning and was admitted to hospital. Gupta was arrested after he was discharged from hospital.
Sawant also said that the police were closing in on panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, who hasn’t shown up for questioning despite being summoned over the past two days, and sarpanch Roshan Redkar, who issued a trade licence to the establishment in 2023.
Both Redkar and Bagkar have filed for anticipatory bail before a local court in Goa.
The state government has also launched a crackdown on high-footfall establishments and has shut down three places, including a nightclub in Vagator.
“Enforcement teams are already on the ground since yesterday, visiting all clubs and high footfall restaurants -- consisting of senior scale officers, fire safety officers, building safety officers and electricity engineers. They have been given a checklist. Clubs that report major violations - their report will be submitted in a few days -- and on the basis of that we will close down their clubs, Sawant also said.
