Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the co-owners of the North Goa nightclub ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’, were taken into custody by Royal Thai Police in Phuket on Thursday following a request from Indian agencies. They will be deported after emergency travel certificates are issued for their return to India at the earliest.
Twentyfive people lost their lives in the inferno on December 6 during a fire show at the nightclub. Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant has promised to bring back the brothers to India at the earliest.
The most audacious act on part of the two brothers was that they booked air tickets to escape to Thailand even as firemen and police were busy saving people from the flames that were engulfing the restaurant.
The fire began at around 11:39 pm on December 6 at the nightclub, firemen arrived at around 12 midnight. Since it was a big fire incident and many people were caught in flames and smoke , police was busy saving lives. The club owners were, at that time, attending a wedding in Delhi, when they got news of the fire.
The brothers, instead of rushing to Goa to save lives of innocent people, immediately booked air tickets for Phuket, since no visas are required. Thailand issues visa on arrival to tourists. They took the 5 am flight to Thailand.
By the time police began their probe, it was revealed that the co-owners had fled to Thailand. The two brothers filed an anticipatory bail plea in a Delhi court through their lawyer as they knew they would be caught soon.
The arguments given by their lawyer in court sound interesting. The court was told that the two were ready to cooperate with police and they should be granted relief from arrest. The lawyer said, the two had not fled to Thailand, they had gone to Phuket on ‘business assignment’. Their trip to Thailand was pre-scheduled.
But lawyer for Goa Police pointed out that the tickets for Phuket were booked within 90 minutes of the fire taking place. Their first lie was nailed.
The lawyer for the brothers then changed tack, He said, both were getting threats and the entire state machinery was trying to nail them. He pointed out how bulldozers were used to raze the restaurant. The government counsel said, the club demolition notice was an old one, and the two brothers were running the club in spite of the licence having expired. He said, the club had no NOC (no objection certificate) for fire safety and yet, fire shows were going on inside the club.
The lawyer for Luthra brothers then told the judge that the two brothers had no role in the day-to-day operations at the club and the local manager handles daily operations. The court was told that the Luthra brothers were only the authorised signatories. But Goa police lawyer placed documents to show that the club was indeed being run by the brothers.
The lawyer for the brothers then tried another tack. He said, one of the brothers was suffering from epilepsy and he should be given relief on medical grounds. The government counsel pointed out that the medical certificate for epilepsy was issued by a cosmetology clinic and was inadmissible. Finally, the judge dismissed the anticipatory bail plea.
One can visualize the audacity of Luthra brothers in the face of a grave sin committed by them. Twenty of their employees were either dying of burns or suffocation, and the two brothers were at that time taking a flight to Thailand to escape from the hands of law.
They had no pre-scheduled business in Phuket. Had the Goa police not taken fast and timely action, the brothers could have fled to some other country from Thailand.
Both the brothers were running the business of their nightclub, they were earning money, but now they were telling the court that they were not accountable.
I must point out here: the two brothers are not the only ones accountable. Those officers who granted clearances to the club are also responsible. They never checked the basic fact that there was only one entrance and one exit.
Those who died in the inferno cannot be brought back to life, but an example can be set from now on. All officials who issue clearances to such clubs must carefully check all the required benchmarks before granting permission. They must think not once, but a hundred times, before permitting such ‘clubs of death’.