"I Was Only Sleeping Partner": Arrested Co-Owner Of Goa Nightclub To NDTV

Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of 'Birch' by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a massive fire killed 25 people, was arrested on Tuesday after he got himself admitted to the Institute of Brain and Spine in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. Officials said Gupta's driver took him to the hospital in an Innova car with an HR (Haryana) number plate.

NDTV confronted Gupta when he was being taken into custody.

"I'm only a sleeping partner with the Luthras, nothing else," he said.

🔴#BREAKING | #FirstOnNDTV: First video emerges of Goa nightclub co-owner Ajay Gupta; NDTV confronts him, he says he was "only a partner"@ParmeshwarBawa @tejshreethought @AaquilJameel pic.twitter.com/JEGrUjN9uF

— NDTV (@ndtv) December 10, 2025

A GST document accessed by NDTV confirms Gupta's partnership with the Luthra brothers.

Gupta, against whom a lookout notice was issued earlier after a Goa police team failed to find him at his residence, will be produced in the Saket Court shortly.

The Goa Police are also seeking a transit remand for Gupta. Once approved, he will be flown to Goa for further interrogation.

Two more owners of the nightclub - Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra - are on the run, and a blue corner notice has been issued against them. They flew out to Thailand's Phuket on an IndiGo flight at 5:30 am on Sunday - just a couple of hours after the tragedy, the Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai airport found. They were in Delhi when the incident took place.

The Delhi and Goa police are jointly conducting raids at safe houses and networks linked to the Luthra brothers.

A musical night at the Goa nightclub turned deadly, with videos showing huge flames and smoke at the scene. Another video shows a dancer grooving to the beats of the Sholay chartbuster 'Mehbooba Mehbooba' when the first flames appear on the ceiling. While the cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed, fireworks during a musical performance are said to have started the fire.

Police have filed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, negligence, and acts endangering safety.

Four staff members of the nightclub have been arrested so far, including the manager. Officials from multiple government departments involved in issuing permits and licences to the club have also been summoned for questioning to examine potential compliance lapses and procedural violations.