Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers expected to reach Delhi tomorrow

The Luthra brothers are expected to reach Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday morning, following their detention by Thai authorities in Phuket. Upon arrival, Goa Police are set to take them into custody, sources said.

Goa Police will formally take custody of both brothers at the airport and are expected to produce them before a Delhi court later in the day to seek their transit remand to Goa for further investigation.

The brothers’ return follows intervention by the Indian embassy after their detention in Phuket. Officials clarified that Goa Police are not travelling to Thailand in connection with the case, contrary to some speculation.

The brothers, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in North Goa, left for Phuket shortly after a fire broke out at the venue earlier this month. An Interpol Blue Corner Notice has been issued against them.

A Delhi court last week refused interim protection from arrest to the brothers, while their business partner was taken into custody in connection with the incident. Their counsel denied allegations that they had fled the country, stating the Thailand trip was for a business meeting and arguing that the brothers were only licensees and not the actual owners of the nightclub.

The nightclub fire occurred in Arpora, approximately 25 km from Panaji, around midnight on December 6. Five managers and staff members have already been arrested in connection with the incident.

Before the detention of the Luthra brothers, their passports were revoked to restrict the brothers' cross-border travel.The passport revocation followed a formal request from the Goa government to the Ministry of External Affairs.

Interpol issued a Blue Corner Notice against the Luthra brothers last week. Investigators said the brothers bought tickets to Thailand at 1:17 a.m. on December 7, about an hour after news of the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora began spreading. At that time, police and emergency teams were still at the scene.