NEW DELHI, Dec 16 — Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, the co-owners of a Goa nightclub where a deadly fire killed 25 people earlier this month, were deported from Thailand and taken into custody on Tuesday upon arrival in the national capital, officials said.
The brothers were handed over to Indian authorities at the airport and are expected to be produced before a Delhi court as part of the ongoing criminal investigation, sources said.
The December 6 fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane, a nightclub in Arpora in North Goa, triggering allegations of serious safety lapses. Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence against the owners, accusing them of running the establishment in violation of mandatory fire and safety norms.
Investigators allege that these violations played a role in the high death toll. “The scale of the tragedy points to systemic failures and non-compliance by the management,” a senior police officer said.
The Luthra brothers — Gaurav, 44, and Saurabh, 40 — were detained in Phuket on Dec. 11 after Indian authorities alerted Thai officials. The Indian government later canceled their passports and submitted a dossier seeking their deportation.
An Interpol Blue Corner Notice was issued after the brothers left India shortly after the fire, officials said.
India and Thailand have an extradition treaty signed in 2013 that came into force in 2015, which authorities cited while coordinating the deportation process.
Read more: Delhi Court Rejects Transit Anticipatory Bail of Luthra Brothers in Goa Fire Case
