Goa nightclub fire: Police issue lookout notice against absconding owners

Goa Police on Monday issued a lookout notice against absconding nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra of Birch by Romeo LaneAccording to officials both the accused reportedly left Goa shortly after the incident and are suspected of attempting to leave the countryAs a precautionary measure all airports and police stations across the country have been alertedGoa Police stated that due to strong suspicion that the duo may try to flee abroad the lookout notice was necessaryMeanwhile four arrested individuals connected to the case were produced before the Bardez District Court late on Sunday nightThe court remanded all four managers to six days of police custodyThey are currently lodged at the Anjuna Police Station lockup and have been questioned for nearly eight hours regarding the fire incident and the whereabouts of the missing ownersIn a related development the Goa Police with assistance from the Delhi Police detained a man identified as Bhola in connection with the absconding ownersInvestigators are examining his links to the nightclub and to Saurabh and Gaurav LuthraDelhi Police are coordinating closely with their Goa counterparts as part of the ongoing probeAdditionally the individual responsible for club operations has also been detainedA police team travelled from Goa to Delhi to take Bhola into custody and he is now being transported back to Goa for further investigationOn Sunday Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed distress and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50000 to those injuredA fire at Arporas Birch by Romeo Lane has claimed 25 lives including four tourists and 14 staff members The identities of seven victims are yet to be confirmed Six people were injured and are undergoing treatmentIn a post on X PM Modi had said The fire mishap in Arpora Goa is deeply saddening My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones May the injured recover at the earliest Spoke to Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant Ji about the situation The State Government is providing all possible assistance to those affectedAn exgratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF will be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Arpora Goa The injured would be given Rs 50000 the Prime Ministers Office said in a statementThe blaze erupted around Sunday midnight at Birch by Romeo Lane a club in the bustling Baga area that draws large crowds due to its proximity to one of Goas most frequented beachesAccording to police officials the inferno is suspected to have been triggered by a cylinder explosion inside the premisesThe sudden blast is believed to have left little time for those inside many of them staff members to escapeFire tenders from multiple stations were immediately deployed and firefighters battled the flames well into the early hours of SundayRescue teams continued their efforts until dawn sifting through debris in search of survivors and attempting to control residual hotspotsAuthorities confirmed that a significant number of the deceased were employees working at the club when the incident occurredSenior officials including the Director General of Police and teams from North Goa district arrived at the site shortly after the fire was reported to coordinate rescue and relief operationsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever