From police search to co-owner Saurabh Luthra's ‘grief’ post: 6 points on Goa nightclub fire probe

Goa police on Monday were not able to find the nightclub owners Gaurav and Saurabh, when cops reached their Delhi residence as part of probe into fire incident

Police on Monday continued the probe the deadly Goa nightclub fire that took the lives of 25 people late Saturday night. In the ongoing probe, the police reportedly reached the residence of Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, owners of the nightclub, but found that they were not at home.

After the Goa nightclub fire, the government on Monday intensified its crackdown on the Romeo Lane, a chain of popular upscale restaurants (AP)

Earlier in the day, officials detained an employee of the nightclub as the government formed a four-member panel to probe the incident.

What happened at the club?: A massive fire broke out at the Birch by Romeo Lane, a nightclub at Arpora, a coastal village in north Goa, on the intervening nights of Saturday and Sunday. 25 people, including staff and tourists, died in the tragedy.

• Goa government forms 4-member panel: Goa government on Monday constituted a four-member magisterial inquiry committee to find out about the circumstances that led to the deadly fire, news agency PTI reported. The members of the committee include South Goa Superintendent of Police Tikam Singh Verma, Director of Forensic Sciences Ashutosh Apte and Rajendra Halarnkar, deputy director, Fire and Emergency Services.
• Club owners not home as police visit residence: A Goa police team was not able to find Goa nightclub owner Gaurav and Saurabh, as they reached their Delhi residence. The Luthra brothers, who are among the main accused in the case, were not at their Hudson Lane residence. Police questioned their family to know about their whereabouts.
• Nightclub co-owner offers aid: Saurabh Luthra took to social media on Monday and expressed “profound grief” in the incident. He also offered assistance and support to families of victims in “every possible form.” "The management expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of lives resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birch," the owner said in his post on Instagram.
• Police detain nightclub employee: Goa police detained an employee of the nightclub, named Bharat Kohli, the PTI report said. A resident of the Sabzi Mandi area in Delhi, Kohli's name surfaced during questioning of a club manager. He was taken to Goa for questioning.
• Crackdown on Romeo Lane club chain: After the massive fire that gutted the nightclub, the Goa government on Monday intensified its crackdown on the Romeo Lane, a chain of popular upscale restaurants and bars located in multiple cities across India. Two properties of the company were reportedly sealed along with a beach shack and another club, located at Vagator and Assagao in Goa.
• Last rites performed for migrant workers killed in fire: Three migrant workers from Jharkhand, identified as Pramod Mahto (24), Binod Mahto (20) and Mohit Munda (22), were killed in the Goa fire. Their last rites were performed at their native places on Monday. The three workers used to work at the nightclub, and their bodies were brought back to the state in the morning by a flight.

(With inputs from PTI)