What began as a late-night fire in North Goa’s ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub has now developed into a full-fledged case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence. The owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, have been detained in Thailand today, where they are believed to have fled, shortly after the incident.
Goa fire tragedy: Chronology of events
December 6, 2025: ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ erupted in flames following an event attended by more than 150 tourists. 25 were killed out of whom 5 were identified as tourists and 20 identified as staff; 6 more were injured and their treatments are still ongoing. The fire is suspected to have been caused by indoor pyrotechnics used during a dance performance, which soon engulfed the club in flames amid lax fire-safety measures and missing mandatory clearances.
December 7: Magisterial inquiry order given by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after after he visited the site around 2:00 AM. Following police investigation, sarpanch of Arpora-Naoa panchayat was detained and the general manager and three other staff members of the nightclub, arrested. The Central government announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of all those who died in the tragedy and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured.
December 8: Look Out Circular issued by Goa Police against the Luthra brothers. The police even sought Interpol’s help to trace them, leading to the issuance of a Blue Corner Notice against the Luthra brothers. Alongside, Bharat Kohli, another accused dealing with the daily operations of the club was also arrested in Delhi. Upon further investigations, Goa Police learned that Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra had fled to Thailand on 7th December around 5:30 am, shortly after the tragedy unfolded. They booked their flight tickets from a third-party travel app around 1:30 am, at a time when the nightclub was still ablaze.
December 9: Goa CM Sawant ordered the demolition of the Romeo Lane beach shack in Vagator, following which Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte also recalled that the shack had been demolished earlier as well as it was illegally built. He even denied the registration of the club.
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December 10: 3rd partner of Birch by Romeo Lane, Ajay Gupta, another accused in the case, was also detained in Delhi. Luthra brothers moved the Rohini Sessions Court for anticipatory bail which was denied. The Goa Chief Minister warned that all tourist establishments that do not adhere to the formulated fire safety norms, will have their licenses cancelled.
December 11: The Central government suspended the fugitive brothers’ passports and the Thai Police detained them soon after. Indian Police later reached Phuket to deport the duo back to India. Meanwhile, Ajay Gupta was produced in the Civil and Criminal Court of Goa following which he was remanded 7-day police custody.
December 11: Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra’s transit anticipatory bail application was rejected after the Goa police told the Delhi court that they fled the country after booking a flight just 1.5 hours after the fire.
Awaiting the repatriation of the Luthra brothers for progression of the ongoing investigation, officials say that accountability will be fixed for every procedural lapse that contributed to the fire.