Goa nightclub owners flee to Phuket, cops seek Interpol help

Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Goa nightclub wanted in connection with the fire tragedy that claimed 25 lives at the facility, have fled to Thailand, prompting police to seek the help of Interpol to trace them, officials said here on Monday.

According to a statement issued by the Goa Police, the owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora fled to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7 in an IndiGo airlines plane, just hours after the incident.

The owners’ escape was discovered after a massive manhunt was launched following the filing of an FIR, and during the probe, it was found from the immigration records that the duo took flight IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket, Thailand, at 5.30 am on Sunday, December 7, just hours after the incident took place around midnight.

The authorities have now sought the help of Interpol to trace and arrest the promoters.

Electric firecrackers likely caused blaze: CM

A preliminary inquiry into the nightclub fire in Goa suggests that “electric firecrackers” were set off inside the premises, sparking a blaze that claimed 25 lives, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said.

A senior official said this swift exit by Luthras shows their “intent to avoid the police investigation”. The official said soon after an FIR was filed, the police moved swiftly and dispatched a team to Delhi to conduct raids on the addresses of the two accused.

“Since they were not available, a notice under appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house,” the official said, adding that by December 7, a Lookout Circular was issued against both accused by the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) at the request of the Goa Police.

However, during this exercise, it was found that the two had already left Delhi for Phuket in the early hours of December 7, that is, immediately after the incident which had taken place around midnight.

“The Goa Police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest,” he said.