Club employee apprehended from Capital

An employee of a Goa nightclub where a fire claimed 25 lives was detained by the Goa Police in Delhi, while the owner remains on run, officials said on Monday.

The employee has been identified as Bharat Kohli, alias Bhola, a resident of the Sabzi Mandi area here. He was responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the nightclub and his name surfaced during the questioning of a club manager, the police sources said.

The police are investigating Bhola’s links to the club as well as to Saurabh Luthra, owner of the club.

The fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora in North Goa on Saturday night. Most of the persons killed in the incident were nightclub staffers.

At present, the Delhi Police are coordinating with the Goa Police in the investigation.

Earlier, the Goa Police had issued a lookout notice against Saurabh Luthra and another person Gaurav.

According to the police, both fled Goa soon after the incident and are suspected to be attempting to leave the country. All airports and police stations have been put on alert following the issuance of the lookout notice, read a statement from the Goa Police.

So far, the Goa Police have arrested the club’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur in the case.

Gaurav and Saurabh reportedly flew to Phuket on Sunday. The police are coordinating with Interpol, say officials.