Will Put Luthras Behind Bars, No Matter Where They Are: Goa Chief Minister

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has assured that the Luthra brothers -- owners of the nightclub 'Birch' by Romeo Lane pub at Arpora that caught fire and cost 25 lives -- will be caught no matter where they hide.

Saurav and Gaurav Luthra, investigators say, had booked tickets to Thailand on December 6 as the emergency services were trying to control the blaze at the Birch and rescue the trapped people. They are currently in Thailand's Phuket, from where they have sought pre-arrest bail.

Speaking to NDTV in an exclusive interview, Chief Minister Sawant said, "Whether it is Thailand or anywhere else, we will pick them up from there and put them behind bars".

The brothers have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, after it was found that the birch and their other properties had violated multiple rules. 

The Birch caught fire on the night of December 6 when the planned pyrotechnics went awry. The bamboo interiors turned it into a tinderbox -- the little bridge connecting it to the mainland and the narrow lanes to reach the lake made it difficult for fire tenders to get there in time. Investigations revealed the place did not have proper safety clearances. 

Chief Minister Sawant said if there are any other illegal properties, "definitely they will be demolished".

"We have formed a Magistral Committee.  The report of the Magistral Committee will come.  We have formed an Audit Committee. They do the structural audit.  The third one is an Enforcement Committee.  They will go to the field and check the structure like this. And after the report comes, the major violation that someone has done will be stopped," he said. 

Another meeting, he said, was held today with all the concerned officers and stakeholders.  "We have said that for the coming season, it is Christmas, 31st of December, in this kind of season, no major incident like this should repeat," Sawant added.

On Tuesday, parts of "Romeo Lane" -- a beach shack in Goa's Vagator owned by the Luthras -- was demolished following an order by the Chief Minister. 

In their application for bail, the Luthras have claimed that they, too, are victims. They said the nightclub is run by their business partners and managers and they do not personally oversee the day-to-day operations of any of the firms.

The Luthras also argued that they are not criminally liable since they were not present at the nightclub when the fire erupted.

The court has refused any immediate relief to them and will hear the case again on Thursday.