Goa Police urge central authorities to impound Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra’s passports

THe Goa law on tues said it has urged the exchange authorities to seize the passports issued to Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of a compass north Goa nightclub where a devastating fire claimed 25 lives last week, adding that one more accused was detained hours after a look out circular (LOC) was issued against him and another owner.“The Goa Police has detained one more accused linked to this case, Ajay Gupta from New Delhi,” deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Nilesh Rane said.The development came hours after the Goa Police issued the LOC against Ajay Gupta, a business partner of Saurabh Luthra, and Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British citizen. Deputy inspector general (DIG) of police Varsha Sharma told reporters that the two were also believed to own the nightclub, where the fire incident took place.“We have issued look out notices against a total of four people — Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, against whom an Interpol Blue Corner notice has also been issued, Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla,” the DIG said, adding Khosla is believed to be out of the country.According to police, Luthra brothers, the primary owners of the club Birch by Romeo Lane in North Goa, fled to Phuket in Thailand hours after the massive blaze killed 25 people at the establishment on Saturday night.“All attempts are being made to get the Luthra brothers back to India...they were not in Goa at the time of the incident,” the DIG said.An Interpol blue corner notice has been issued against the absconding accused. Police also said they have moved the passport authorities to impound the passports issued to Delhi-based restaurateurs — Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra.The DIG said Ajay Gupta is one of the partners at the nightclub, while Khosla, 76, owned the premises where the club was operating.Earlier, a police officers in Delhi said that teams of Delhi and Goa police went to Gurugram and Delhi to look for Ajay Gupta. “We feel he has also fled. We are not sure whether he is in Delhi or outside. LOC was issued so that he does not leave the country.”Police visited Gupta’s house in Gurugram but could not find anyone, officers said.Birch by Romeo Lane was built on a salt pan land, an eco-sensitive intertidal plot near a tidal creek, officials said. So far, five people have been arrested in the Saturday night incident — the nightclub’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli.While four accused have been remanded to six-day police custody, Kohli, who was allegedly responsible for overseeing daily operations of the nightclub and was arrested in Delhi on Monday, was brought to Goa on Tuesday.Police also recorded statements of Siddhi Halarnkar, former director of panchayats who was suspended pending inquiry after it was found she had stayed a demolition order against the alleged illegal structure, and Shamily Monteiro, the then member secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, who had allowed the nightclub to operate despite it being functioning in an illegal structure. Village panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, the third government official to be suspended, failed to turn up in response to police summons for a second day running.The DIG said that Halarnkar and Monteiro have been asked to join the investigation. “Teams are working to apprehend the other accused involved in the crime and various teams have been formed and deputed before different government offices procure required documents pertaining to Birch by Romeo Lane, Arpora,” police said.Meanwhile, the Goa tourism department on Tuesday demolished ‘Romeo Lane’, a beach shack illegally constructed on the coastline at Vagator by the Luthras, on the directive of chief minister Pramod Sawant and reclaimed the 198 square-metre of land.(With inputs from Jignasa Sinha)