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Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers’ police custody extended

Advocate Parag Rao, who represented the Luthra brothers, told mediapersons, “The police produced a fresh request for extension of remand for police custody. We have not seriously opposed it as my client wants to cooperate with the investigation".

3 min readPanajiUpdated: Dec 27, 2025 06:21 AM IST

Ten days after they fled to Thailand within hours of the blaze at their nightclub, the Luthra brothers were brought to Goa on December 17 (Express Photo)

A Goa court on Friday extended the police custody of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub where a fire on December 6 killed 25 people in North Goa’s Arpora, and remanded them to police custody till December 29.

Advocate Parag Rao, who represented the Luthra brothers, told mediapersons, “The police produced a fresh request for extension of remand for police custody. We have not seriously opposed it as my client wants to cooperate with the investigation”.

Rao said his clients did not oppose the extension of custody as they want to cooperate with the investigation. “They [Luthras] have been there at least since 16th. This is an incident, which is site specific, when they were not even in Goa. And their general manager and other managers have been in custody for such a long time. My clients are there and they are fully cooperating,” Rao said.

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Ten days after they fled to Thailand within hours of the blaze at their nightclub, the Luthra brothers were brought to Goa on December 17. The Goa Police took them into custody shortly after the duo landed at the Delhi airport on December 16, after they were deported from Thailand.

According to investigators, the Luthra brothers took a flight from Delhi to Phuket at 5:30 am on December 7, hours after the incident, which took place around midnight. The duo booked the tickets at 1:17 am on December 7 to flee the country, within 90 minutes of the blaze. Police booked the Luthras, along with partners, the manager, event organiser and other managing staff of the club, on charges of culpable homicide.

The prosecution on Friday sought an extension of remand, submitting to the court that some documents required for the investigation are yet to be recovered from the accused.

A Sessions Court in Goa granted conditional bail to Bharat Singh Kohli, another accused in the case, who was running the daily operations of the nightclub. Advocate Vaibhav Amonkar told the media, “The bail application has been allowed. He has to report to the investigating officer on the first Monday of every month and deposit his passport.”

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The Luthra brothers also filed an anticipatory bail application in connection with a second FIR lodged by the Mapusa police. The FIR alleges that the brothers and their partner forged a No Objection Certificate (NOC) of a Health Officer and used the forged document to obtain an excise licence. The court granted the duo interim protection till December 30 in the interim bail plea pertaining to the second FIR.

Last week, the police initiated the process to issue a Blue Corner Notice against the property owner, Surinder Kumar Khosla. Police said Khosla is a UK national and the owner of the property on which the “unauthorised structure” housing the nightclub Birch had been operating.

Pavneet Singh Chadha

Pavneet Singh Chadha is the Goa Correspondent of The Indian Express. His reporting focuses intensely on the state of Goa, covering major developments in politics, governance, and significant local events, which establishes his high degree of Expertise and Authority in the region. Expertise Geographic Expertise: As the Goa correspondent, Pavneet provides on-the-ground, comprehensive coverage of Goa's political, social, and cultural landscape, ensuring readers receive timely and localized insights. Key Coverage Focus: His recent work demonstrates deep investigative capabilities and a focus on high-impact stories, including: Investigative Reporting: Extensive coverage of complex events such as major incidents (e.g., the Goa nightclub fire), tracing the legal, political, and safety lapses involved. Government and Law Enforcement: Detailed tracking of police actions, deportations, and legal proceedings related to significant local cases. Policy and Governance: Reporting on the judiciary (e.g., Goa High Court flagging illegal structures) and the actions of government departments. He tweets @pub_neat ... Read More

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