Court remands Luthra brothers in 5-day custody; denies plea for ‘good mattress’

PANAJI: A Goa margaret court on wed remanded enterpriser brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra in constabulary custody for v days shortly after being brought to the state from New Delhi in connection with the devastating fire in their nightclub that killed 25 people on the night intervening December 6 and 7.The brothers, who were brought to Goa on a Wednesday morning flight, were taken for medical examination, first at a primary health centre, from where they were referred to the Asilo District Hospital, before being produced in the court of Mapusa judge Puja Sardesai.The brothers, co-owners of the north Goa nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, sought directions for provision of a ‘good mattress’ while in custody because of their health condition. Their legal team told the judge that Saurabh had an issue in his spinal cord, and Gaurav, with his tail bone.The court sent the two for a fresh medical examination in view of their request, and rejected the request after going through the opinion of doctors.“You had asked for a mattress. The doctors have said that you don’t require it,” Sardesai told the two brothers.“Remanded to police custody for five days to be produced before the court on (December) 22nd,” the judge said, adding that the police would have to provide the accused with medicines prescribed by doctors.The two brothers were deported from Thailand to New Delhi on Tuesday, nine days after they took a pre-dawn flight to Phuket within hours of a fire breaking out at the nightclub they operated at Arpora in Goa.In filing before the court in Delhi previously, the two brothers claimed that they were not responsible for the daily operations of the club, which was managed by restaurant managers, and blamed “an external third-party performer… who brought her own equipment, staff”. They have argued that “the legal provisions do not extend the liability” for the fire on them.“The incident was purely an accident and there is no criminal intent,” the brothers said in their anticipatory bail plea in Delhi.A police officer familiar with the investigation said the two could be taken to the spot on Thursday as part of the exercise to piece together the events that led up to the fire that claimed 25 lives including 20 staffers. Police said the brothers would also be confronted with the other accused who were in custody of the state police.An FIR has been registered against the Luthras and others under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125(a) and (b) (endangering life and personal safety), and 287 (negligent conduct with fire or combustible matter) of the BNS.Apart from the two brothers, six people have been arrested in the case -- five club staffers and a sixth Ajay Gupta, identified as their business partner.The five staffers have been identified by the police as four managers viz. Chief general manager of the club Rajiv Modak, 49; gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, 32 – both residents of Delhi; bar manager Rajveer Singhania, 32, and general manager Vivek Singh, 27 – both residents of Uttar PradeshSo far, investigators have recorded the statements of 50 witnesses.Police said they were looking for Surinder Kumar Khosla, the owner of the property, who in 2023 signed a lease and licence agreement with Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, the company under which the nightclub operated. Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra along with Ajay Gupta are listed as partners in the firm.Khosla, a British Citizen, is said to be out of the country at the moment. Police said the property that Khosla owned, was found to have been constructed without a construction licence, was not granted an occupancy certificate and lacked a whole host of necessary permissions including a NOC from the Fire Department and had a demolition notice issued against it.Lawyer Vishnu Joshi, who represented a Delhi family that lost four members in the tragic incident, said they were satisfied with the seriousness attached by the police to the case. “The Goa Police strongly opposed the demand that they be given special accommodations on account of medical reason, on account of which, the judge ordered a fresh medical examination. It is a case where 25 people have lost their lives and 25 families are today without their sole bread earners. We argue that this is a rare case and exemplary punishment be shown,” Joshi said.Authorities have said that even as the fire was gutting the structure, having started around 11.45 pm, the brothers booked tickets to Thailand at 1.17am, and flew out at 5.30pm. The lookout notice against them could be issued 24 hours later.