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Search and forensic teams are still sifting through the burnt wreckage of the Romeo Lane nightclub, as Goa struggles to process one of its worst tragedies in recent memory.
Late Saturday night, a massive fire ripped through the venue, killing 25 people. In the aftermath, the Goa Police registered an FIR against the nightclub’s owners, its manager, and the organisers of the late-night event held there.
Soon after the FIR was filed, a police team travelled to Delhi, hoping to locate the two prime accused, brothers Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra. But by then, they were already gone.
Authorities discovered that the pair had fled India within hours of the fire. According to immigration records accessed at Mumbai airport, both men boarded a flight to Phuket, Thailand, departing at 5:30 am on Sunday, barely a few hours after the tragedy unfolded.
Sources told The Indian Express that the CBI is likely to reach out to Interpol for a Blue Corner Notice. This type of notice helps agencies gather information on a person’s identity, whereabouts, or activities during a criminal inquiry.
So, who exactly is Saurabh Luthra? Here’s what we know about him
‘Gold medalist techie-turned-restaurateur’
According to the club’s official website, Saurabh Luthra is described as a “gold medalist engineer-turned into a promising and fastest-growing restaurateur” who has gained attention for his “splendid work in the F&B industry”.
The website also claims he was recognised as an “iconic restaurateur” in 2023 and has collected several notable awards over the years.
Born in Delhi, Saurabh holds a BTech in Computer Science and spent nearly a decade working in the corporate world as a business development manager before switching to entrepreneurship. His first ventures were a café-lounge called Mama’s Buoi and a bar named Dramebaaz in Hudson Lane, North-East Delhi.
But it was Romeo Lane that truly pushed the Luthra brothers into the spotlight. The brand expanded rapidly, opening restrobars and rooftop restaurants in more than 30 cities, Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Goa, Bhopal, Indore, Dehradun, Lucknow, and even Dubai. The Indian Express reported.
Today, the brothers operate multiple restaurant and bar brands such as Romeo Lane, Birch, Caha and Mama’s Buoi. In Goa, they promoted Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora as “India’s first island bar” when it launched a few years ago.
The duo live in North Delhi’s Outram Lane, near the GTB Nagar Metro Station. Goa Police raided this area on Monday as part of their search for the brothers.
Multiple lapses in the nightclub
Early investigations point to several serious violations at Birch by Romeo Lane. Officials say the club was operating in an ecologically sensitive area, a former saltpan that falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), where construction in intertidal patches is not permitted.
Its remote riverside location and the narrow access roads made the situation worse. These same narrow paths continued to cause delays even after the flames broke out, as emergency teams could not get their fire tenders close enough to the building.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “From my preliminary inquiry, it appears the fire started on the upper floor. Because the doors were very congested, some people managed to escape, but once the fire intensified, others could not get out. Many who moved towards the underground area died due to suffocation because there was no proper ventilation.”
Videos circulating on social media show a performer dancing moments before the first flames appear on the ceiling. Just before that, fireworks were set off inside the club to add dazzle to the performance.
❗️⚠️🇮🇳 - At Least 23 Dead in Nightclub Fire in Goa, India
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) December 7, 2025
A massive fire triggered by a gas cylinder explosion ripped through a nightclub in Arpora, Goa, late Friday night, killing at least 23 people and injuring several others. The blaze broke out around midnight, trapping… pic.twitter.com/9bUb2AzlzV
In a statement on Monday, the Chief Minister’s Office revealed that the sarpanch of Arpora, where Birch is situated, had granted multiple permissions to the outlet, including NoCs for electricity, water connections, repairs, and a trade licence.
However, the CM’s office noted, “The premises continued to run after the expiry of the trade licence (in) March 2024. Under Section 72-A of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, the local body is empowered to seal such premises. However, they failed to do so.”
This comes even as panchayat officials claim they had ordered the demolition of Birch, but the action was halted by higher authorities.
The club had already been under scrutiny. In December 2024, Romeo Lane was among seven Goa establishments that received notices from the Goa State Pollution Control Board for violating noise pollution guidelines.
More recently, Goa authorities suspended Shamila Monteiro, Director of Fisheries and former Member Secretary of the Pollution Control Board, over what officials described as regulatory lapses linked to the case.
with input from agencies
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