NEW DELHI/ PANAJI, Dec 9: The Interpol has issued a Blue Notice against Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of a Goa nightclub, who are believed to have fled to Thailand just hours after a Saturday blaze claimed 25 lives, while the Goa Police put out a Look Out Circular (LOC) against another set of owners.
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The LOC was issued against Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British citizen, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma told reporters.
Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the two primary owners of the nightclub, are believed to have fled to Phuket in Thailand following the Saturday night tragedy at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in Arpora.
Two days after the horrific tragedy, state authorities on Tuesday demolished a beach shack illegally constructed by the Luthras in Vagator area, and appointed a fire safety audit panel for tourist establishments.
The Goa Chief Minister’s office said that an Interpol Blue Corner Notice, meant to gather information about the accused, has been issued against the Luthras.
“A Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against another set of owners of the nightclub, Ajay Gupta and UK citizen Surinder Kumar Khosla, hours after the Luthras fled,” said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma.
“All attempts are being made to get the Luthra brothers back to India…they were not in Goa at the time of the incident,” she added.
Then Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar and then Goa State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary Shamila Monteiro have been asked to join the investigation, the DIG said.
The Goa Tourism Department demolished `Romeo Lane’, a beach shack illegally constructed at Vagator by the Luthras, on the directive of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and reclaimed the 198 sqmt of land.
The structure, made of wood, was razed using machines, a senior official said, adding the demolition was carried out within two hours in the presence of police.
Police have so far arrested five persons — the nightclub’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli.
Kohli, a resident of Delhi, was allegedly responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the nightclub and was arrested in the national capital.
With the investigation brought to the fore several violations at the nightclub, Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, the original landowner, claimed he had fought a legal battle for 20 years against Khosla, alleging persistent illegalities on the property.
Talking to PTI, Amonkar said he had purchased two plots of land in Arpora village in 1994 and signed an agreement for sale with Surinder Kumar Khosla in 2004, but it was withdrawn within six months as the latter failed to pay the money.
Kholsa went on to set up a nightclub on the land, and it was later taken over by Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, Amonkar claimed. (PTI)
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