Thailand : The Luthra brothers, who were deported from and transported to Goa, will appear in court today
Thailand : After being deported from Thailand, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, the proprietors of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, Goa, were transported to the state from Delhi on Wednesday morning. Following their arrest at Delhi’s IGI Airport immigration, the two are now being held by the Goa Police.
After a tragic fire at their nightclub on December 6 that killed 25 lives, the brothers were deported from Thailand to India, ending a 10-day worldwide manhunt.
Proceedings in court and remand
The Goa Police were previously given a two-day transit detention by a Delhi court to facilitate their relocation. As the inquiry progresses, the Luthra brothers will be brought before a court magistrate in Mapusa today.
On December 7, hours after a fire at their nightclub claimed 25 lives, the pair left India. On Tuesday, they were deported to India while being escorted by Thai officials. They had been lodging at the Indigo Hotel in Phuket.
The brothers were sat in the back of the plane under security at Bangkok airport, disguised and surrounded by immigration officers. At about 6:45 p.m., they were brought before Delhi’s Patiala House Court, where Goa Police requested three days of detention. A transit remand of two days was issued by the JMFC. According to DySP Nilesh Rane, after a medical assessment, they were returned to the airport and flown to Goa, where they should arrive on Wednesday at about 11 a.m.
Procedure for deportation
Following the issuance of a lookout notice, the Ministry of External Affairs suspended their passports, prompting the Indian embassy in Thailand to provide emergency travel papers. A special police squad traveled to Phuket to assist in the brothers’ repatriation after they were arrested by Thai officials for unlawfully overstaying.
The brothers are the subject of a formal complaint filed by Goa Police under many BNS provisions, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Last week, local courts denied their anticipatory transit bail.
Associate arrests and the origin of the fire
Other associates connected to the nightclub have also been taken into custody, including Ajay Gupta of Gurgaon, Rajiv Modak and Priyanshu Thakur of Delhi, and Rajveer Singhania, Vivek Singh, and Bharat Kohli of Uttar Pradesh. According to preliminary investigations, electric firecrackers impacted the club’s wooden roof at around 11.45 p.m. on December 6, when over 150 visitors were there.