Goa club held fire show without safety equipment: India Today accesses FIR

The investigation into the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub inferno has intensified, with the FIR, accessed exclusively by India Today, revealing that a dangerous fire show was conducted at the club without any fire-safety equipment or mandatory fire audit.

The document highlights grave lapses and directly names prime accused Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, who allegedly operated the Arpora nightclub despite glaring violations.

As the fugitive duo fled to Thailand hours after the tragedy that killed 25 people, Goa Police have written to the passport office seeking immediate cancellation of their passports and secured a Blue Corner Notice from Interpol.

In a parallel crackdown, the Goa Tourism Department on Tuesday demolished Romeo Lane, an illegally constructed beach shack in Vagator linked to the Luthra brothers.

The demolition, ordered by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, was carried out in under two hours as authorities reclaimed the land.

Meanwhile, Look Out Circulars have been issued against the club’s other co-owners Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, and police have arrested five staffers as the probe widens into officials who cleared the project.

The state government has now formed two high-level committees to overhaul fire-safety enforcement and licensing norms across Goa’s nightlife and tourism sectors.

- Ends