Goa nightclub fire: Third owner arrested, claims he was only a ‘sleeping partner’, hid in hospital to evade cops

“A team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch, assisting the Goa Police, took him to its office in Sunlight Colony after he was discharged. He was later arrested by the Goa Police and taken to the state in the evening on a transit remand from the court,” a police officer said.

During questioning, police said Ajay, a resident of Gurgaon, told them he was a “sleeping partner” with co-owners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra and was not involved in the club’s day-to-day functioning.

According to police sources, Ajay was acquainted with a builder named Amit Gupta. Police sources said it was Amit who introduced Ajay to the Luthra brothers, residents of Outram Lane in Northwest Delhi and active in the hospitality sector.

In 2022, Amit was shot dead by gangster Deepak Boxer in Civil Lines in 2022 during a gang rivalry. Boxer, a member of the Gogi gang, was deported from Mexico in 2023.

Police sources said Ajay is involved in real estate projects in Goa and invested in Birch by Romeo Lane, they said.

Based on property documents, the Goa Police found that Ajay had a share in Birch. “Ajay was not named in the FIR. But during the probe, it was found that he also had a share in the club. An arrest warrant was issued against him and he has been taken into custody,” an officer said.

Meanwhile, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra remain at large. Police said the brothers fled the country just hours after the fire.

They filed an anticipatory bail plea in a Delhi court on Wednesday. The court did not grant interim protection. Asking the State to file a reply on the bail pleas, Additional Sessions Judge Vandana of Rohini Court kept the matter for Thursday noon.