A Delhi court on Thursday denied the anticipatory bail plea of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra (Luthra brothers) who own the Goa club ‘Birch by Romeo Lane‘, where a blaze killed 25 people on December 6. The brothers, according to cops, booked flight ticket to Phuket late on the same night and fled to Thailand.
The family’s lawyers had sought relief from arrest (four weeks of transit anticipatory bail) and any sort of custody, arguing for the opportunity to make proper representation before a court. The State, however, said the accused fled deliberately to avoid arrest and hence they should be given any prior relief in the matter.
The court began hearing on Wednesday while the Luthra brothers were in Thailand. Now, the brothers have been detained in Thailand and would be deported to India soon.
What happened in court?
Opposing the anticipatory bail plea of the Luthra brothers, the Goa Police said that Gaurav Luthra, Saurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta are signatories. The Panchayat licence issued earlier has already expired and has not been renewed, the cops said, adding that the two are also not cooperating.
“This disentitles them for extraordinary protection by this court. They have no business in Thailand. They left the country on December 7. Though they said that they had left on the night of December 6. Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra misled the court, misled the authorities and left the country,” the State argued.
The Goa Police also said the medical grounds made by the brothers are “bogus as the patient was not seen by the doctor”. Meanwhile, appearing for the Luthra brothers, senior advocate Tanvir Ahmed said that as per FIR, the incident occurred was due to negligence, and was not homicidal. The counsel argued that there was a threat to applicant’s family.
He urged that the applicants are before the court for protection of life and a man before the court is not an absconder. He said the perception of innocence is there under the law and the accused are not convicts.
The counsel added the brothers are ready to join investigation, adding that no notice to join the investigation was given and a warrant was issued straightaway.
He also argued that the brothers had an event to attend in Phuket, therefore they had booked a ticket, and that the owners of nearly 40 restaurant all over India, cannot be present everywhere.
The Luthra brothers, Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, wanted in connection with the tragic fire at Goa’s Birch Hotel, were detained in Thailand and are expected to be deported to India.
Earlier in the day, co-accused and ‘co-owner’ Ajay Gupta was remanded to 7-day police custody.
MEA may revoke passports
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier said it was examining the Goa government’s request to revoke the passports of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra. The response came after the Goa police wrote on Monday to the regional passport officer (RPO) in Goa, requesting it of “urgent revocation of the passports” of the two accused.
In a communique to the Goa police, Nijo Varghese, RPO, Goa, replied, “The passports of the accused were issued by RPO Delhi. Considering the seriousness of the matter, RPO Delhi has already issued impounding notices to both passport holders. To enable further action on revocation, the details of the case pending before the court may kindly be forwarded to RPO Delhi.”
Another owner arrested
Continuing its probe, the police on Wednesday arrested a silent partner and investor in the fire-ravaged ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, Ajay Gupta.
Goa Police landed with Gupta at Manohar International Airport, Mopa, at 9.45 pm on Wednesday. He was then taken to Anjuna police station for further investigation, an official said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gupta, a resident of Jammu, was produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vinod Joshi in Delhi, who granted the Goa Police a 36-hour transit remand to take him to the coastal state.