Thai authorities have detained Saurabh Luthra and his brother Gaurav Luthra, co-owners of the Goa nightclub where a massive fire killed 25 people, officials said on Thursday.
The brothers were picked up in Phuket following an Interpol Blue Corner Notice issued at the request of the Indian government. Senior officials confirmed that the process to bring them back to India is underway.
According to officials, the Luthras booked tickets to Phuket through a travel portal at 1.17 am on December 7, less than an hour after learning of the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, North Goa.
They left India on an IndiGo flight early Sunday morning, even as emergency teams were still trying to extinguish the blaze and rescue staff members.
The Goa Police subsequently approached the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking the Blue Corner Notice, which is issued to trace the identity and location of individuals linked to criminal investigations.
The Ministry of External Affairs has also received a communication from the Goa government and is examining a request to revoke the brothers’ passports under provisions of the Passports Act.
In Delhi, a court on Wednesday took up the brothers’ anticipatory bail plea. Additional Sessions Judge Vandana sought a reply from Goa Police on their request for transit anticipatory bail.
The Luthras’ counsel argued that they “had not fled but had gone to Thailand on a business trip,” and claimed the duo fear arrest upon returning to India.
They have sought four weeks of transit anticipatory bail to approach courts in Goa for further relief.
The Delhi court, however, refused to grant interim protection from arrest.
Meanwhile, Ajay Gupta, a partner in the nightclub, was detained by Delhi Police’s crime branch after a request from their Goa counterparts. He was produced before the Saket court, where Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vinod Joshi granted Goa Police a 36-hour transit remand due to ongoing flight disruptions. A senior official said Gupta would be formally arrested once he is brought to Goa.
Goa Police have already arrested five staff members: chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli.
The Luthras’ lawyer has maintained in court that the brothers “are only licensees, not the actual owners” of the nightclub.
