Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, now making headlines as Luthra brothers, fled to Thailand on early morning of December 7, when the club they owned in Goa was burning. The blaze claimed 25 lives. The brothers booked an IndiGo flight to Phuket, allegedly to avoid action against them. Meanwhile, the authorities in India demolished their other club at Vagator, and suspended their passports. A Blue Corner notice was also issued by the Interpol on the request of the CBI.
They were detained in Thailand on Thursday, and the process to deport them back to India is underway. Interestingly, the hotel they were picked up from in Thailand is also named Indigo — Hotel Indigo, Patong in Phuket, reported Times of India.
How did they escape?
The Goa police said the brothers booked flight tickets to Thailand through MakeMyTrip at 1:17 am on December 7. The fire at their ‘Birch by Romeo Lane‘ club had begun on the night of December 6. The police claim as soon as the brothers came to know about the incident, they began planning their escape.
By 5.30am on December 7, the Luthras were airborne on IndiGo flight 6E-1073 to Thailand. Why Thailand? Their escape coincided with IndiGo’s mass cancellation of flights. The airline, India’s largest air carrier, faced severe trouble due to pilots’ roster related nee rules, leading to shortage of crew and grounding of thousands of flights.
Tens of thousands of passengers across nearly all the airports in the country were stranded for hours as their flights got delayed, or in most cases, cancelled. The domestic network was hit excessively. However, the international flights to some destinations were operating, and it is believed Saurabh and Gaurav booked for the place they thought would be easier to go to.
The flight mess of IndiGo left them with limited options. Coincidentally, the hotel they booked was again – Hotel Indigo, TOI report mentioned.
Goa CM vows strict action
Briefing the press in Goa on Thursday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the brothers will be brought back to the state and they will put them behind bars. The Chief Minister stated that teams from the Goa Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will travel to Thailand to deport the accused to India.
“We will bring them to Goa as soon as possible. Teams of the Goa Police and the CBI will go there (to Thailand). Henceforth, any violation and encroachment will not be tolerated. Two suspended women government officers are cooperating with the investigation, while one is not; action will be taken accordingly… To ensure such an accident doesn’t occur again, our enforcement team, comprising senior officers, fire safety officers, and building construction officers, is visiting various clubs and restaurants. The clubs where serious violations are found will be closed,” he said.
So far, police have arrested partner Ajay Gupta (55) and five staff members – Rajiv Modak (49), chief general manager; Priyanshu Thakur (32), gate manager; Rajveer Singhania (32), bar manager; Vivek Singh (27), general manager and Bharat Kohli, operations manager.