Medical Complaints, Dubious Documents: Luthras Evade Goa Police's Questions

Saurav and Gaurav Luthra, the brother in Goa Police's custody over a fire at a nightclub in Goa that killed 25 people, are evading answers, sources told NDTV.

The police sources said that the brothers, who were brought back earlier this week to India from Thailand, were complaining of medical issues every few hours. The Birch by Romeo Lane co-owners were claiming to suffer from Bach, chest or leg pain every few hours despite their medico-legal exam showing no signs of medical issues.

Within 36 hours of being in custody, four medico-legal exams of the Luthra brothers were conducted, as opposed to the 48-hour window set by law to examine those in police custody. This, the sources said, was a tactic being applied by the accused to waste custody time.

Further, discrepancies have been found in the documents pertaining to the Luthra brothers, sources claimed. 

When the fire broke out at the nightclub in Arpora on December 6, the Luthra brothers, who were at a wedding in Delhi, planned their escape to Thailand and were on a flight to Phuket by 5.20 am. Sources say that they were contacted while in Thailand to join the probe, a direction they blatantly refused.

On Wednesday, the Goa Police was granted five-day police custody of the Luthras, a day after they were deported from Bangkok. Police said that the accused organised a fire show in the nightclub despite knowing that the restaurant lacks emergency exit doors on the ground or deck floors for evacuation in an emergency, leading to the December 6 disaster.

Ajay Gupta, one of the four co-owners of the nightclub, on Thursday filed a bail application in a court in Mapusa town. He was arrested in Delhi by the Goa Police on December 10, following which a court in Mapusa remanded him in police custody for seven days.

So far, eight persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including Gupta and the Luthra brothers. Five other staffers of the nightclub arrested in the case are Rajiv Modak (Corporate General Manager), Priyanshu Thakur (Gate Manager), Rajveer Singhania (Bar Manager), Vivek Singh (General Manager) and Bharat Karan Singh Kohli (employee).

A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Surinder Kumar Khosla, another owner of the nightclub who is a British citizen, police said.