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Goa govt writes to MEA, seeking passport revocation for absconding nightclub owners Saurabh, Gaurav Luthra
MEA is examining the request to revoke the passports under the Passports Act of India, as per extant rules, people familiar with the matter said.
The external affairs ministry is considering the Goa government's request to revoke the passports of Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the Goa nightclub where 25 people were killed in a fire, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The ministry has received a "communication from the government of Goa with regard to Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra", one of the people said on condition of anonymity.
"The external affairs ministry is examining the request to revoke the passports under the Passports Act of India, in line with the extant rules," the person said without giving details.
The Luthra brothers, co-owners of the club Birch by Romeo Lane in north Goa, left India shortly after the devastating fire. An Interpol Blue Corner notice has been issued for them at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A court in New Delhi refused on Wednesday to provide any interim protection from arrest to the brothers, whose partner was detained in connection with the fire.
The lawyers for the Luthra brothers refuted allegations that they had fled the country, and contended that they were away on a business trip. The brothers have also contended that they were only licensees, not owners, of the nightclub. It was also claimed that, because they were not involved in the club's day-to-day activities, which were handled by the management team, they could not be held responsible.
The Goa police have arrested five managers and staff members of the club over the fire that broke out at the venue in Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, at around midnight on December 6.
