Fled in IndiGo, hid at Indigo, return in IndiGo: Goa nightclub fire accused Luthra brothers deported from Thailand; to land in Delhi at 1.45pm

NEW DELHI: Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, co-owners of the fire-ravaged Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa — have been deported from Thailand and are expected to land in Delhi at around 1.45pm on today.

As per news agency PTI, the duo has boarded an IndiGo flight to Delhi where upon landing, they will be formally arrested by the Goa police in connection with the December 6 tragedy that claimed 25 lives.From Delhi, a team of Delhi Crime Branch and Goa Police will take them to Patiala House Court to seek transit remand, before they are likely flown to Goa later that night, Goa DGP Alok Kumar confirmed.

A special team of CBI and intelligence officials had landed in Phuket last Saturday to complete the deportation process.

The brothers had fled to Thailand even as police and firefighters battled the blaze at Birch and rescued those trapped. Following their escape, the Regional Passport Office in New Delhi issued notices to the Luthras, seeking explanations for why their passports should not be impounded. Once the brothers failed to respond, their passports were suspended, effectively rendering them illegal residents in Thailand.

They were subsequently detained by Thai authorities from Hotel Indigo in Patong, Phuket, and shifted to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok. The Indian Embassy in Thailand issued an Emergency Travel Certificate — a one-way travel document — to facilitate their return, as their passports had been invalidated. Both countries are bound by a formal extradition treaty signed in 2013, which came into force on June 29, 2015. Goa Police’s probe revealed that Birch nightclub had been operating illegally over the past 18 months without necessary permissions, running on an expired licence that was never renewed since 2024. Despite these violations, no authority had taken action against the club. So far, police have arrested Gurgaon resident Ajay Gupta (55), a partner of the Luthras; Rajiv Modak (49), chief general manager; Priyanshu Thakur (32), gate manager; Rajveer Singhania (32), bar manager; Vivek Singh (27), general manager; and Bharat Kohli, operations manager. The fire broke out around 11.45 pm on December 6 during an event attended by over 150 tourists. Preliminary investigations indicate that electric firecrackers striking the wooden ceiling of the club triggered the blaze. Several guests were trapped in the basement when the exit caught fire. The escape The Luthras booked tickets for a Phuket-bound flight at 1.17 am on December 7, mere hours after the fire began. By 5.30 am, they were airborne on IndiGo flight 6E-1073. Goa police later reached Delhi with arrest warrants, searched their residences and offices, and issued lookout notices. Interpol also followed up with a blue corner notice.