Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant onTuesday ordered demolition of the Romeo Lane beach shack in Vagator, owned by Gaurav and Saurabh Luthara, who fled to Thailand after a fire at their Arpora nightclub killed 25 people last week.
The development comes amid the ongoing investigation into the incident.
As the investigators continue to locate the fugitive Luthara brothers, Interpol has issued a Blue Corner notice against them.
The Luthra brothers had fled the country hours after fire at their Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub. At least 25 people were killed and six others were injured.
According to Goa police, the accused fled the country at 5.30 am on December 7, less than six hours after the fire at their Goa nightclub.
“The Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai was contacted and it was found that both the accused had taken 6E 1073 flight (New Delhi to Phuket) at 5.30am on 7th December,” Deputy Superintendent of Police and Public Relations Officer Nilesh Rane said.
Goa Police had booked Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra and a few others under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), section 125(a)(b) (endangering lives and personal safety) and section 287, which deals with negligent handling of fire or combustible material under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
So far, police have arrested five people in connection with the fire. The arrested accused have been identified as Birch general manager Rajiv Modak, gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, bar manager Rajveer Singhania and general manager Vivek Singh.
Another person, Bharat Singh Kohli, who reportedly managed the nightclub’s operations on behalf of the Luthra brothers has also been arrested.
According to preliminary investigation, the fire began on the first floor where a dance performance was underway. Once the flames intensified, some panic-stricken people moved towards the basement, which also housed the club’s kitchen.
While some managed to escape, others got trapped inside the basement and died of suffocation.
The Goa government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, and a committee has been formed to look into the procedural lapse that led to the incident.