New Photo Shows Luthra Brothers At Thai Immigration Control Centre

A new photo of the Luthra brothers surrounded by Thai officials at an immigration facility has emerged. The two were detained from their hotel room in Thailand following a request from India.

They will be taken to Bangkok tomorrow morning for legal formalities and handed over to Indian authorities, sources said.

Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra are wanted in India in connection with a fire tragedy that killed 25 at a nightclub owned by them in Goa.

In the latest photo, the two brothers are seen sitting on chairs in front of Thai officers at the Phuket Immigration Control Centre (PICC).

The Luthras fled India soon after the tragedy, anticipating arrest as the probe brought them into the limelight. The Delhi-based restaurateurs also approached a court in the national capital through their lawyer seeking anticipatory bail, arguing that they couldn't be held responsible for the fire since they were not present at the nightclub during the incident.

With the court refusing to stay their arrest, Goa Police sought the government's help to bring them back to face the law. The government used the passport route to trap the brothers. Under Section 10A of the Passport Act, the authorities suspended their passports, landing them in an immigration soup.

During the hearing, Goa Police's lawyer Abhinav Mukherjee argued that the brothers had falsely claimed minimal involvement in the business and said their travel abroad was pre-planned.

The police presented several documents contradicting the Luthras' claims, including an FSSAI application filed by Saurabh Luthra, a Pollution Control Board application, and GST records showing both brothers and Ajay Gupta as partners.

The police told the court that the establishment's panchayat license had expired and was not renewed, and that the business was operating without permission. The licence agreement was also shown as proof that they lacked authorisation to run the venue.

The prosecution said the brothers booked their flight at 1.15 am, shortly after the fire, and flew to Thailand on December 7 at 5 am, calling the move an attempt to evade arrest. Their mother and wife allegedly told police they were unaware of the brothers' whereabouts and did not have their phone numbers.

The Goa Police said the Luthras were responsible for running the nightclub with only one narrow exit and organised the fire show that preceded the blaze.