In the wake of a catastrophic fire that claimed 25 lives at a popular Goa nightclub, authorities have moved decisively against the venue’s owners, suspending their passports and intensifying efforts to bring them back for questioning. Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the primary proprietors of Birch by Romeo Lane, departed for Thailand mere hours after the inferno erupted on December 6, according to details emerging from the ongoing police probe.
The suspension of the Luthra brothers’ passports, enacted by Goa Police, renders the documents temporarily invalid under Section 10A of the Passports Act 1967. As outlined by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), such measures allow the Central Government or authorized officials to halt travel privileges, barring holders from departing the country. For the brothers, who have already absconded, this step effectively grounds any further international movement and signals the prelude to potential full cancellation pending legal resolution. Sources indicate that reactivation would hinge on compliance with investigative mandates.
Now holed up in Phuket, Thailand, the Luthras confront a broadening criminal inquiry, including multiple lookout notices and an Interpol Blue Corner Notice aimed at monitoring their whereabouts. The duo’s hasty exit has drawn sharp scrutiny: Immigration logs reveal they caught IndiGo flight 6E 1073 from Delhi to Phuket, lifting off at 5:30 a.m. on December 7. Just 90 minutes prior, at 1:17 a.m., they accessed the MakeMyTrip platform to secure tickets—precisely as firefighters and rescuers battled flames and extracted survivors from the smoldering venue.
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The brothers’ legal maneuvers hit a snag on Wednesday when a Delhi court denied their bid for interim arrest relief. In their plea, they sought four weeks of transit anticipatory bail, arguing for safeguards against detention upon repatriation, alongside temporary shields from custody. “We are also victims,” their filing contended, framing the application as essential for safe return amid the probe’s momentum.
This tragedy has spurred wider repercussions, with Delhi mandating stricter fire safety audits across establishments in response. As investigators peel back layers—uncovering, for instance, one owner’s use of a SIM card registered to a driver dismissed in 2020—the case underscores lapses in oversight at high-profile spots. A third figure, Ajay Gupta, has surfaced as a Gurugram-based “sleeping partner” in the operation, adding complexity to the ownership web.
Goa officials remain tight-lipped on next moves, but the passport clampdown and global alerts paint a clear picture: the Luthras’ tropical respite is anything but secure. With public outrage simmering and forensic teams sifting debris for clues, the path to accountability winds inexorably back to Indian soil