A man claiming ownership of the land on which the fire-ravaged Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub stood in North Goa has alleged that the plot was rezoned without his knowledge to benefit the establishment.
Twenty-five people, mostly staff and some tourists, were killed when a blaze swept through the nightclub at Arpora around midnight on December 6.
Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, who says he has been fighting a 21-year legal battle to reclaim the land, told PTI he discovered on Thursday that the area had been converted from a salt pan to a settlement zone “quietly” and without any notice to him.
A 2004 sale agreement he signed with Surinder Kumar Khosla was cancelled within six months over alleged non-payment, but Khosla went on to set up a nightclub on the property, later taken over by the Luthra brothers.
A senior official in the Goa Town and Country Planning Department said an inquiry was underway and it would be inappropriate to respond to Amonkar’s allegations at this stage.
Meanwhile, a Delhi court dismissed the Luthras’ pleas seeking four weeks’ transit anticipatory bail to avoid immediate arrest upon their return from Thailand.
Additional Sessions Judge Vandana held that the allegations against them were prima facie “grave and serious”, noting that 25 lives were lost in the incident.
The judge flagged the “conduct” of the brothers, observing that flight records showed their tickets to Phuket were booked at 1.17 am on December 7, with the flight departing at 5.20 am — contradicting their claim that they had left India before the fire.
The court said crucial licences had already expired and rejected medical grounds cited by Gaurav Luthra, calling the documents “old” and not reflective of any serious condition.
It also questioned why the brothers had not approached the competent court in Goa and said their pleas failed to establish “exceptional or compelling circumstances” required for extra-territorial anticipatory bail.
Counsel for the Goa government opposed the relief, arguing that the accused had left the country within hours of the tragedy and were “evading the legal process”. Serious allegations, including non-bailable warrants, were pending, he said.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday that the brothers, detained by authorities in Thailand, would be brought back to India “as soon as possible” by a joint Goa Police and CBI team.
He said a local panchayat official who was “not cooperating” with the probe would also be arrested. Three government officials have already been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.
The Luthras are accused of manslaughter and murder by allegedly organising a fire show “without taking proper care and caution and without providing fire safety equipment”.
Police have arrested Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner in the club, along with five managers and staff members.