A horrific fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, North Goa, late Saturday night killed 25 people, a majority of them workers; and left several others injured. In a shocking turn of events, the club’s owners, the brothers Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, reportedly fled the country within hours of the blaze, boarding an early-morning flight to Phuket, Thailand. Sources have also said that a Blue Corner Notice is likely to be issued against the Luthra brothers, who escaped to Thailand soon after the tragedy.
Rapid escape raises anger and questions of accountability
According to Goa Police, immigration records show that the Luthra brothers boarded an IndiGo flight at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday, barely hours after the fire broke out. A First Information Report (FIR) has since been filed against them and several other staff, charging them with culpable homicide, among other offences. Police have also issued a Look-Out Circular and requested assistance from the international police agency Interpol to track and arrest them. Meanwhile, key managerial staff, including the club’s general manager, bar manager and gate manager, have already been arrested.
Safety failures and the heartbreaking human cost
Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been triggered by pyrotechnics or a gas-cylinder explosion during a performance on the club’s first floor. The blaze spread rapidly; many victims were trapped in the basement kitchen and storage area and died of asphyxiation, unable to escape because of narrow exit paths and lack of proper fire exits or safety clearances. Among the dead were club staff, many of them migrants holding night shifts and holiday-going tourists. The tragedy has stirred public outrage and prompted the Goa government to order a magisterial inquiry, while calls grow louder for stricter enforcement of fire-safety norms at clubs and event venues.
As investigations continue and victims’ families await justice, this blaze has become yet another grim reminder of what can go wrong when safety is treated as an afterthought.
