Goa Police Takes Luthra Brothers Into Custody
The Goa Police has taken the Luthra brothers, Gaurav and Saurabh, accused in the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire tragedy in which 25 people were killed on December 6, for medical examination.
The Luthra brothers were formally arrested by the Goa Police from the New Delhi International Airport on Tuesday after they were deported from Thailand. A team from the Goa Police was present at the airport to take custody of the brothers.
The accused duo will be produced before the Patiala House court in the national capital, after which the Goa police will take them to the state.
The siblings, owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, were detained by Thai Police from a resort in Phuket after India moved to suspend their passports and requested the Thai authorities to deport them. An Indian law enforcement team coordinated formalities for the brother’s return.
An extradition treaty between India and Thailand has been in force since 2015. Thai officials stressed that due process was followed as part of the cooperation between the two countries, leading to the prompt, lawful handover of the brothers.
The Goa Police had filed a criminal case dated December 07 at the Police Station Arpora Anjuna, North Goa, under sections 105, 125, 125(a), 125(b), and 287, read with 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
The FIR states that on December 6, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, the accused persons, had organised a fire show at the restaurant Birch by Romeo Lane, Arpora, without taking proper precautions and without providing fire safety equipment and other safety measures. The fire show resulted in a blaze, due to which 25 innocent people, including tourists and staff, succumbed to death, and many others were seriously injured.
The Luthra brothers, despite knowing that the restaurant lacks emergency exit doors on the ground or deck floors for evacuation in an emergency, organised the fire show. (ANI)
