A horrific fire claimed the lives of 25 people, in an Arpora nighclub of north Goa, on 6th December. However, the owners of Birch by Romeo Lane, escaped to Thailand even after expressing “profound grief” over the incident. A team was sent to New Delhi to raid the homes of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra shortly after a formal complaint was filed, according to Goa Police. Bharat Kohli, the third perpetrator was taken to Goa for interrogation after being detained in Delhi.
However, only a few hours after the tradegy, the Luthra brothers had boarded a flight to Phuket at 5:30 am on 7th December as their properties were discovered locked with a notice plastered on them. The information was obtained by the Bureau of Immigration at the Mumbai airport. The police had asked the bureau to issue a lookout circular. Every point of entrance and departure in the nation, such as ports and airports, is notified by the circular to stop the accused listed in the system.
A senior official mentioned, “Their departure immediately after the incident indicates intent to evade investigation.” They flew to Thailand on IndiGo flight 6E-1073. The pilot rostering problems in India caused significant disruptions to local operations, but they had no effect on IndiGo’s flights to locations outside of India.
The official added, “Since they were not available, a notice under appropriate sections of law was pasted on the gate of their house.” He further highlighted, “Goa police have taken further steps to coordinate with the Interpol Division of CBI to apprehend both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra at the earliest.
A Blue Corner Notice is probably going to be requested by the CBI from Interpol, reported The Indian Express. The purpose of the Blue Notice is to gather further details on a person’s identity, whereabouts, or activities in connection with a criminal investigation.
Notably, a technical report by the Goa Fire Department revealed that the occurrence could have been avoided had basic precautions against fire been taken. The report said that although the emergency teams responded quickly, the lack of essential fire safety systems and several unauthorised activities around the site made the disaster worse and led to heavy loss of life. According to the report, the incident shows serious failure in fire prevention and maintenance of standards of safety and preparedness for emergencies.