Owners Fled Country Hours After Fire At Goa Club That Killed 25

The two owners of the night club in Goa where 25 people died in a fire left India for Thailand hours after the incident happened on Saturday night, the police said today. Until now the police had been looking for them.

Immediately after a first information report (FIR) was filed against them, a police team went to Delhi to search the two accused - Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra - in Delhi. However, the two were not at home, due to which the police left a notice at the house.

The police requested the Bureau of Immigration to issue a lookout circular by Sunday evening. This was done. A lookout circular alerts the authorities at every point of entry and exit in the country such as airports and ports to stop those named in the system.

The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai airport found out that the two accused flew out to Thailand's Phuket at 5.30 am on Sunday, which placed the time just hours after the deadly fire incident happened. The two brothers were in Delhi when the fire broke out at their night club, Birch by Romeo Lane, in north Goa. 

They took an IndiGo flight 6E-1073 to escape to Thailand. IndiGo's flights to destinations outside India were not affected by the pilot rostering issues, which in India led to massive disruption in domestic operations.

Clearly, the two wanted to avoid police investigation, the police said.

The Goa Police have reached out to the Interpol division of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to coordinate for an operation to arrest the two accused as soon possible, sources said.

A third accused, Bharat Kohli, who was arrested from Delhi, has been brought to Goa for questioning.

Officials from multiple government departments involved in issuing permits and licences to the club have been summoned for questioning to examine potential compliance lapses and procedural violations. The police said investigation is being conducted on priority, and further action will follow based on its findings.

Earlier, Goa authorities had suspended Shamila Monteiro, Director of Fisheries and former Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, citing regulatory lapses, said the official.