New Delhi/Panaji, Dec. 10 -- Goa Police on Tuesday issued a Look Out Circular against two individuals linked to the Arpora nightclub where a catastrophic fire on Saturday night killed 25 people. The action followed the revelation that the venue's two principal owners had left India for Phuket in Thailand within hours of the incident.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Varsha Sharma said the LOC names Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British national, who are both believed to be associated with the ownership of the nightclub known as Birch by Romeo Lane. She confirmed that parallel efforts are underway to track down owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who fled to Thailand soon after the blaze. According to the Chief Minister's Office, an Interpol Blue Corner Notice has been issued to collect information on the Luthra brothers.
Sharma told reporters that assistance from Interpol is being sought through the CBI. "All attempts are being made to get them back to India," she said, adding that the search for the absconding men began immediately after the fire.
As part of the widening investigation, two former state officials, then Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar and then Goa State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary Shamila Monteiro, have been summoned to explain possible regulatory lapses. Sharma said their statements are required to establish how the nightclub continued to operate despite multiple violations.
The Goa Tourism Department on Tuesday demolished Romeo Lane, a wooden shack at Vagator that officials said was illegally erected by the Luthras on government land. Acting on orders from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, teams razed the 198 square metre structure within two hours using heavy machinery in the presence of police. A senior official noted that the administration had kept the equipment ready after receiving instructions. "This shack is illegally built on government land. It will be demolished on Tuesday," a CMO official had said earlier.
Meanwhile, five individuals linked to the club's operations have been taken into custody. Police have arrested Chief General Manager Rajiv Modak, General Manager Vivek Singh, Bar Manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli. Kohli, who is from Delhi, was taken into custody in the capital and is alleged to have overseen the day-to-day functioning of the establishment.
The case has brought longstanding disputes and alleged irregularities surrounding the property into sharper focus. Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, the original landowner, said he has pursued legal remedies for two decades in his effort to reclaim control of the site. Amonkar said he purchased two plots in Arpora in 1994 and entered into a sale agreement with Khosla in 2004. The agreement was withdrawn within six months because Khosla did not pay the agreed amount, he said.
According to Amonkar, Khosla then set up a nightclub on the land, which was eventually taken over by Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra.
He added that the Arpora Nagoa panchayat issued a demolition order to Khosla in 2024, which was stayed by the Directorate of Panchayat after Khosla challenged it. "I have been fighting a battle for the last 20 years against Khosla, who has been involved in all kinds of illegalities in this property I own," Amonkar said.
More violations have surfaced since the fire. Authorities found that a Kazakh national named Kristina, who was performing a belly dance when the blaze broke out, lacked the business visa required to work in India.
The state government has formed a high-level committee to draft standard operating procedures for a comprehensive safety audit and for issuing licences to tourist establishments, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The CMO has also stated that the local sarpanch had granted the nightclub permissions for electricity, water supply, repairs and a trade licence. The club continued operating even after its licence expired in March 2024.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.