Luthra brothers deported to India in Goa nightclub fire case

Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the brothers who ran the nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane where a devastating fire claimed 25 lives in North Goa’s Arpora village, have been deported from Thailand and are expected to land in Delhi on December 18 afternoon, officials said.

The duo was detained last week at a hotel in Patong, Thailand, following a request from Indian law enforcement agencies. After being held initially, they were shifted to an immigration facility in Bangkok earlier this week, where deportation proceedings were fast-tracked. Officials from central agencies are accompanying them back to India.

Sources said the Indian Embassy in Bangkok issued emergency travel certificates to enable their one-way return after their passports were impounded at the request of the Ministry of External Affairs.

A team from the Goa Police is already in Delhi to take the brothers into custody. After arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport, they are likely to be produced before a Delhi court, where Goa Police will seek transit remand. The brothers are expected to be flown to Goa by late evening or night for sustained interrogation and further investigation.

Investigators say the Luthra brothers left India within hours of the fire. Flight records show they departed from Delhi to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, after booking tickets at 1.17 am — barely 90 minutes after the blaze broke out around midnight.

The Fire Department’s technical incident report noted that the fire control room received the first information about the blaze at 11.45 pm on December 6. Police said the brothers were attending a wedding in Delhi at the time and were alerted to the fire by a staff member of the nightclub.

Soon after their departure from the country, the Bureau of Immigration issued a lookout circular against them at the request of the Goa Police. This was followed by the issuance of a Blue Corner Notice, and the subsequent impounding of their passports by the MEA, steps that ultimately paved the way for their detention and deportation.

With the accused now back on Indian soil, investigators say the focus will shift to custodial questioning to establish accountability and trace the sequence of decisions that led to one of Goa’s deadliest nightclub fires.