Following a deadly nightclub fire in Goa, the owners are now in custody facing forgery charges related to obtaining the club's excise licence, raising questions about regulatory compliance.
Key Points
- Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of a Goa nightclub, are in custody for allegedly forging documents to obtain an excise licence.
- The forgery case is linked to the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a fire in December resulted in 25 fatalities.
- The Luthra brothers were arrested after being deported from Thailand, where they had fled following the fire.
- Mapusa police are investigating the forgery allegations, while Anjuna police are investigating the fire tragedy.
Mapusa police in Goa on Monday took custody of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, arrested for the December 6 nightclub fire tragedy that killed 25 persons, in a case of alleged forgery to obtain an excise licence, an official said.
The two, currently in Colvale central jail in North Goa, were taken into custody after the additional sessions court in Mapusa rejected their anticipatory bail petition on March 27 in the forgery case, he added.
While Anjuna police is investigating the fire tragedy, Mapusa police registered a case of forgery against the Luthras for allegedly providing forged documents to obtain a licence from the excise department for the nightclub, the official explained.
"We took custody of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra as part of our probe," the Mapusa police station official said.
The Luthra siblings are owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora village, where a devastating fire on December 6 last year led to the deaths of 25 persons and injuries to more than 50 others.
They had fled to Thailand at the time and were arrested after being deported from that nation.
