NDTV Accesses Blue Corner Notice Against Luthra Brothers: What It Says

Luthra brothers - Saurabh and Gaurav - the principal owners of 'Birch by Romeo Lane', a nightclub in Goa that caught fire on Saturday night (December 6), claiming 25 lives and leaving six others injured, have been arrested from Thailand. The Luthra brothers booked tickets to Phuket, Thailand on the intervening night of December 6 and 7, at a time when the Goa Police and Fire Services teams were still engaged in rescue operations at the nightclub.

The government used Section 10A of the Passports Act to suspend the brothers' passports and stop them from travelling anywhere. At the same time, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a Blue Corner notice. NDTV has accessed the notices issued against the brothers.

What Is A Blue Corner Notice?

According to Interpol, a blue notice is issued to collect additional information about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.

In the case of the Luthra brothers, the investigators knew that the two men had fled to Thailand's Phuket, but needed information on their whereabouts.

The purpose of the blue notice is to obtain information on the person of interest, in particular his/her previous criminal records and any ongoing criminal investigation and to locate suspects. 

What Does Blue Notice Say

The Blue Notices issued against the two brothers accuse them of injury causing death, manslaughter and murder. The notice accuses Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and other partners of organising a fire show "without taking proper care and caution and without providing fire safety equipment, other safety gadgets."

On December 6, at 11:45 pm, the fire show led to a "serious fire" leading to death of 25 people, including five tourists.

The Luthra brothers organised the fire show despite knowing that their nightclub did not have an emergency exit door on the ground floor or on the deck floor to evacuate in case of emergency, the notice read.

The blue notice also accuses Luthra brothers of operating a "restaurant without obtaining essential permission or licenses from competent authorities."