New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa, where a recent fire claimed 25 lives.
The plea was filed before the Rohini court even as the brothers — who left India shortly after the incident — were detained in Thailand.
During the hearing, Goa Police counsel Abhinav Mukherjee argued that the brothers had falsely claimed minimal involvement in the business and said their travel abroad was pre-planned.
Police presented multiple documents contradicting the Luthra duo’s claims, including the FSSAI application filed by Saurabh Luthra, a Pollution Control Board application, and GST records showing both brothers and Ajay Gupta as partners.
Police further informed the court that the establishment’s Panchayat license had expired and was not renewed, and that the business was operating without valid permission.
The license agreement was also shown as proof that they lacked authorisation to run the venue.
The prosecution maintained that the brothers booked their flight at 1.15 a.m. shortly after the fire, and flew to Thailand on December 7 at 5 a.m., 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. Subsequently, non-bailable warrants, a Look Out Circular, and a Blue Corner Notice were issued, the prosecution said.
Goa Police also told the court that the Luthras were responsible for running the nightclub with only one narrow exit and had organised the fire show that preceded the blaze.
The Luthra brothers’ lawyer, Tanveer Ahmed, on the other hand, argued that the siblings were being portrayed as fugitives even though they had informed their travel agent of their plans on December 6.
He said that properties belonging to the family were being vandalised and alleged personal vendetta by government agencies, claiming a threat to their lives. Ahmed said his clients would return to India regardless of the verdict.
Ahmed said that the Luthra brothers are businessmen, and they are not people who fled the country after committing a Rs 5,000 crore financial fraud.
The devastating fire, which broke out on Saturday night, killed 25 people and left six injured. Nearly 100 people were present in the club at the time. Initial investigations point to the heavy use of inflammable materials in the décor and gross violations of fire safety norms as the cause of the tragedy.
A swift multi-agency operation, which stretched across two countries, eventually led to the detention in Thailand of the Luthras.
(IANS)
