Birch Nightclub Tragedy: Co-Owner Ajay Gupta Was In Goa When Deadly Blaze Claimed 25 Lives, Later Fled To Delhi

New Delhi: The latest investigation in the tragic nightclub inferno in Goa, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, revealed that Ajay Gupta, the third partner of Birch owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra was present at different location in Goa as fire engulfed Birch By Romeo Lane.

Preliminary investigations following North Goa's deadly blaze have already flagged a slew of regulatory and safety lapses. According to police and fire-service officials, the club lacked valid fire-safety clearances, proper emergency exits and essential safety infrastructure such as sprinklers, alarms and clearly marked escape routes thereby leading to the harrowing incident.

Ajay Gupta, who was earlier detained in the national capital and has since been remanded to seven days’ custody for questioning, was reportedly said to be present in Goa when the chaos unfolded, and as the matter escalated, he left the state the following morning, flying to Delhi.

Gupta was brought to Goa late on Thursday night after being granted a 36-hour transit remand by Delhi’s Saket Court on December 10.

Amid the intensifying probe, Ajay Gupta was arrested from a hospital in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. He was located at a private hospital in the Lajpat Nagar area of the capital where he had admitted himself citing spine-related medical issues,

However, the sleuths narrowed down his movement and detained him from the hospital.

'Sleeping Partner'

Ajay Gupta has earlier claimed that he was merely a “sleeping partner” of the nightclub with no knowledge of its operational details.

In a parallel development, Luthra Brothers- Gaurav and Saurabh- have been detained in Thailand. The Thai police have taken them into custody and brought them to the airport as part of the handover process. Indian agencies had been tracking the duo since they fled to Thailand hours after the nightclub inferno.

A Blue Corner Notice had already been issued against the brothers, and Indian authorities are now coordinating the next steps with their Thai counterparts.

Separately, the district administration has demolished a section of the Romeo Lane restaurant in Vagator, owned by the Luthra brothers, as part of its action on illegal structures linked to the case.

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