Goa club fire: Part of Romeo Lane restaurant owned by Gaurav, Saurabh Luthra demolished in Vagator

The district administration demolished part of the Romeo Lane restaurant in the Vagator area of Goa on Tuesday. The restaurant is owned by Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, who also own Birch by Romeo Lane, where a fire tragedy claimed 25 lives on Sunday.

Earlier today, ahead of the demolition drive, Deputy Director of Goa Tourism, Dhiraj Wagale, said, "We will demolish the encroachment on the beach side. The total area to be demolished is 198 square meters."

The massive blaze broke out in the early hours of Sunday at a nightclub in Arpora, triggering a high-casualty incident. The Goa government formed a committee to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, in a major escalation of the probe, the state police have initiated international coordination to trace and bring back the absconding owners of Birch, the restaurant-cum-club run under the Romeo Lane brand.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Goa Police, Varsha Sharma, said that Lookout Circulars (LOCs) have been issued against the Luthra brothers (owners of the establishment), and they are taking the help of Interpol and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to bring them back.

Addressing a press conference, Sharma said, "LoC has been issued against them (Luthra brothers). They are not in India. We are taking the help of Interpol and CBI to bring them back. They were not in Goa on the incident date."

The DIG further said that Ajay Gupta, a co-owner and partner in the business, has also been named among the accused and is now on a Lookout Circular.