Goa club fire: Dramebaaz to Romeo Lane cafe chain, Luthra brothers' quick rise in hospitality business

PANAJI/ young new delhi: Delhi-based entrepreneurs Saurabh Luthra and his comrade Gaurav Luthra, erstwhile a salute of the hospitality business featuring frequently in glam magazines, now face a look out notice by the Goa Police in connection with a devastating fire that claimed 25 lives at a nightclub owned by them in North Goa.On Monday, Goa Police said the duo fled to Phuket on an IndiGo flight at 5.30am on Sunday, roughly six hours after the massive blaze at Birch by Romeo Lane, a club owned by them in the coastal village of Arpora in North Goa.A first-generation restaurateur and entrepreneur, Luthra brothers are from Delhi’s Outram Lines, Kingsway Camp. According to police, Saurabh Luthra first ventured into restaurant business in 2015 by starting a café under the brand name Mama’s Buoi at north Delhi’s Hudson Lane followed by another brand name, Dramebaaz. In 2019, he opened a club named Romeo Lane in Civil Lines, Delhi.At present, the Romeo Lane brand spans 37 cities across the country including Delhi, Dehradun, Noida, Gurugram, Kanpur, Zirkapur, Hyderabad, Lucknow Mohali, Ludhiana, Bhopal and also has a presence in Dubai, London, with a plan to open one in New York as well. They also own resorts in Goa and other places.Saurabh completed his BTech in software engineering from a university in Gujarat and worked as a business development manager for 10 years, police said.As per the company websites, the restaurants and clubs are run by the brothers and other investors. Many of their ventures are listed with registered office addresses – G Block, Phase 3, Model Town and Hudson Lane, Kingway Camp in the national capital.When HT visited the Hudson Lane address, it found the place had been converted to a women’s PG accommodation. Neighbours said they know Luthras who stayed there for some time but had shifted to other residence years ago. The place was given to another owner who runs a PG.At the Model Town address, HT found a locked office belonging to Luthras. A guard at the building said the office has been locked since the last two days.HT also visited Luthras’ bungalow in Outram Lines and found it locked from inside. Nobody responded at the door.A neighbour, who refused to be identified, said: “The family has been living here for years. The sons own many restaurants and also have hotels. We don’t know where they are but haven’t seen them. Police came here but they left soon.”Romeo Lane club in Civil Lines is still functional while the one in Defence Colony has shut down. Neighbours said the Defence Colony outlet shut down months back. Most of the outlets have been given as franchises, said the police.At the Civil Lines outlet, a staffer said, “We don’t know what has happened. We have no contact with the bosses. Our direct boss was [Bharat] Kohli but we can’t reach him. Our restaurant is following all rules. We have fire NOC as well. We have working fire-fighting equipment.”Police arrested Kohli, an associate of Luthras, early on Monday from his residence in Sabzi Mandi locality of Delhi. Police said Kohli was “overseeing” operations of many restaurants and clubs owned by Luthras.The exponential rise of the duo has not been without controversy. The Romeo Lane chain of nightclubs and restaurants in Goa have faced complaints for repeated violation of coastal regulation zones (CRZ) and sound pollution norms.Romeo Lane Goa, a party shack on the coastline at Vagator, has been in the crosshairs of locals not just for repeated violations of the CRZ, but also for playing loud music beyond permissible limits well into the night.“There are several complaints filed and FIRs that have been registered by the police against the establishment, but the violations continue,” Jawish Moniz, a local, who runs a guest house not far from the Vagator beach, said.Romeo Lane at Vagator was previously demolished on at least two occasions for being in violation of the CRZ, he said. “Each time they (the administration) dismantled the structures after the tourist season got over after giving an undertaking before the court that they will demolish. They take action once the season is over and the structure comes up again before the next tourist season,” Moniz said.Birch by Romeo Lane, the club where 25 people, including 20 staff, were killed in the devastating fire late on Saturday, was built on a salt pan land. While the two floors of the establishment were permanent structures, the roof, which first caught the fire, was made of thatched bamboo.On Monday morning, Saurabh took to social media to express grief for the incident. “The management expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of lives resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birch. In this hour of irreparable sorrow and overwhelming distress, the management stands in unwavering solidarity with the families of the deceased as well as those injured, and conveys its heartfelt condolences with utmost sincerity,” Luthra said on Instagram.