Goa Nightclub Tragedy: Trouble Mounts For Luthra Brothers, One More FIR To Be Filed For Using Forged Documents To Obtain Club Licence

New Delhi: In a major update in Goa nightclub inferno, one more FIR is likely to be filed against Luthra brothers- Gaurav and Saurabh- the owners of the Birch By Romeo Lane in north Goa's Arpora, where 25 people lost their lives following the deadly blaze on December 6 .

The Luthra brothers reportedly did not have a certificate in their own names and submitted forged documents to obtain a licence for the club’s registration.

Earlier, the duo were dragged back to India and arrested in Delhi on Tuesday (December 16) after they fled to Thailand after the fire in the nightclub. On Wednesday, a Goa Court  remanded them to five-day police custody following their deportation.

Even as a court had denied anticipatory bail to them, the deportation process for Luthra brothers had begun during the weekend.

FLDE TO PHUKET

The Delhi-based entrepreneurs had fled to Phuket in Thailand catching an early-morning IndiGo flight 6E 1073 from New Delhi to Phuket, hours after the blaze engulfed their nightclub in Goa's Arpora on December 6.

The Luthra brothers had been detained by Thai law enforcement officials at their hotel in Phuket last week, after New Delhi initiated a request for the same. The Government of India had earlier approached international authorities, also issuing a Blue Notice via Interpol.

The Luthra brothers are facing a case of culpable homicide and negligence following the December 6 tragedy, which investigators allege was compounded by the nightclub operating in violation of mandatory fire safety norms. The incident raised serious questions over alleged fire safety violations and lapses by the management.

Six people, including five managerial staff and Ajay Gupta, a business partner of the Luthra brothers, have been named in the case so far. Search is also underway for a seventh person, Surinder Kumar Khosla.

42 SHELL COMPANIES FROM ONE ADDRESS

Earlier, the owners of Birch by Rome Lane were also found running 42 shell companies under the guise of their restaurant empire, stated reports.

The authorities uncovered a vast financial fraud allegedly as owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra reportedly were directors in all the companies, which were all registered at a single address in north-west Delhi and all companies had opened in last two years, reports say. 

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