Goa nightclub fire probe committee questions landowner, sarpanch

A magisterial inquiry committee has questioned original landowner Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Arpora-Nagoa sarpanch Roshan Redkar in connection with the devastating fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa.

Amonkar was summoned at 3.30 pm on Saturday and questioned till 10.30 pm, his lawyer Prasenjeet Dhage said, adding that the panel wanted to know "why this incident happened".

"My client had a warrant of appearance before the committee," he said.

"It was a very intensive and vigorous inquiry," the lawyer added.

The Goa government has constituted a committee headed by district magistrate Ankit Yadav to inquire into the December 6 fire incident which claimed 25 lives.

Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar told reporters that he answered the committee's questions.

He has already obtained pre-arrest bail from a local court in connection with the case.

The Goa police have arrested five managers and staff members of the club.

Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the club, have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.

As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the fire tragedy, the state authorities on Saturday sealed Cafe CO2 Goa, a renowned club located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator in North Goa, and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

The move came a couple of days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team indicated that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls in Goa, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.