Goa nightclub fire: Police issue lookout notice against absconding owners

New Delhi: Goa Police on Monday issued a lookout notice against absconding nightclub owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra of ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’. According to officials, both the accused reportedly left Goa shortly after the incident and are suspected of attempting to leave the country. As a precautionary measure, all airports and police stations across the country have been alerted. Goa Police stated that due to strong suspicion that the duo may try to flee abroad, the lookout notice was necessary.

Meanwhile, four arrested individuals connected to the case were produced before the Bardez District Court late on Sunday night. The court remanded all four managers to six days of police custody. They are currently lodged at the Anjuna Police Station lock-up and have been questioned for nearly eight hours regarding the fire incident and the whereabouts of the missing owners. In a related development, the Goa Police, with assistance from the Delhi Police, detained a man identified as Bhola in connection with the absconding owners.

Investigators are examining his links to the nightclub and to Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra. Delhi Police are coordinating closely with their Goa counterparts as part of the ongoing probe. Additionally, the individual responsible for club operations has also been detained. A police team travelled from Goa to Delhi to take Bhola into custody, and he is now being transported back to Goa for further investigation. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.

A fire at Arpora’s Birch by Romeo Lane has claimed 25 lives, including four tourists and 14 staff members. The identities of seven victims are yet to be confirmed. Six people were injured and are undergoing treatment. In a post on X, PM Modi had said, “The fire mishap in Arpora, Goa, is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest. Spoke to Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant Ji about the situation. The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”

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“An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF will be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Arpora, Goa. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. The blaze erupted around Sunday midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane, a club in the bustling Baga area that draws large crowds due to its proximity to one of Goa’s most frequented beaches. According to police officials, the inferno is suspected to have been triggered by a cylinder explosion inside the premises. The sudden blast is believed to have left little time for those inside, many of them staff members, to escape.

Fire tenders from multiple stations were immediately deployed, and firefighters battled the flames well into the early hours of Sunday. Rescue teams continued their efforts until dawn, sifting through debris in search of survivors and attempting to control residual hotspots. Authorities confirmed that a significant number of the deceased were employees working at the club when the incident occurred. Senior officials, including the Director General of Police and teams from North Goa district, arrived at the site shortly after the fire was reported to coordinate rescue and relief operations.