Goa Nightclub Fire: Court Rejects Co-Owner Ajay Gupta’s ‘Ill Health’ Plea, Sends Him To 7-Day Police Custody

Panaji: Ajay Gupta, one of the co-owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a devastating fire killed 25 people on December 6, was on Thursday remanded in seven-day police custody by Mapusa Court.

Gupta’s lawyer argued that he was unwell and should be granted relief on medical grounds, but the judge dismissed the plea, stating that the police would ensure all necessary medical care. The court directed Anjuna Police to provide Gupta with his prescribed medicines and monitor his health throughout the custody period.

As he was being escorted to court, Gupta spoke briefly to Republic, saying: “I am sad about whatever happened. I didn’t do it. I am just a sleeping partner.”

Gupta was brought to Goa late on Thursday night after being granted a 36-hour transit remand by Delhi’s Saket Court. Before his court appearance, he remained lodged at the Anjuna Police Station, where two individuals visited him but declined to speak with the media.

In a major development in the same case, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, the principal owners of the nightclub, have been detained in Thailand. The Royal Thai Police took the brothers into custody and brought them to the airport as part of the international handover process.

The duo had fled to Thailand just hours after the blaze. Indian agencies tracked their movements through flight records, immigration trails and hotel check-ins, prompting Interpol to issue a Blue Corner Notice. Coordination is now underway between Indian authorities and Thai officials for the next steps.

Their attempt to secure interim protection from arrest was rejected by Delhi’s Rohini Court on Wednesday, which questioned the maintainability of their transit anticipatory bail plea since the brothers were outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that the inquiry report into the tragedy will be completed within eight days. The state government has begun compensating victims' families and has initiated safety audits across entertainment spaces.

Meanwhile, the district administration has demolished a section of the Luthra-owned Romeo Lane restaurant in Vagator, part of its actions against structures found in violation of regulations.

With Ajay Gupta now in police custody and the Luthra brothers detained abroad, the multi-agency probe into one of Goa’s deadliest nightclub fires enters a critical phase.

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