- 1 day ago
On this Special Report, NewsTrack with Maria Shakeel investigates the horrific fire at 'Birch' by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa that claimed 25 lives. The owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, have fled to Thailand, prompting an Interpol Blue Corner Notice. While the Luthra brothers seek anticipatory bail claiming a 'witch hunt', their partner Ajay Gupta has been arrested in Delhi. The programme highlights the devastating loss and the Luthra brothers' escape on an Indigo flight to Phuket. Guests including former DGP Arvind Kumar Jain and activist Gaurav Bakshi debate the systemic failures, questioning how the club operated on government land without safety permits. The show demands strict accountability from the Goa administration for the tragedy.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening, you're watching NewsTrack with me, Maria Shaquille.
00:04On December 6th, while 25 people were desperately fighting for their lives inside a nightclub in Goa,
00:11choking, scrambling, trapped in a blazing death trap,
00:16the owners of that pub were busy packing their bags,
00:20quietly slipping out the back door of responsibility.
00:24Just hours after firefighters finally brought the inferno under control,
00:30the Luthra brothers were comfortably seated on an Indigo flight to Phuket,
00:36leaving behind the smoke, the bodies and the questions they refused to face.
00:40And now as the news tightens, the Luthras are playing the victim card,
00:45seeking bail and shifting the blame onto ground managers.
00:50This is not just shameful, it's cowardice.
00:52And we at India Today will continue to demand accountability, justice and answers.
00:57First up, here's the story.
01:00A night of celebration turned into a nightmare in Goa.
01:1025 people never made it out.
01:13And as Goa moans, the owners of the nightclub are at the centre of this inferno.
01:18The hunt for the men behind Birch by Romeo Lane now stretches beyond India's borders.
01:25Brothers Gaurav and Saurav Luthra, owners of Birch, are now wanted men.
01:30With an Interpol Blue Corner notice issued,
01:33they are officially on the radar of international agencies.
01:37But instead of flying back to face investigators,
01:40the duo has moved a petition for anticipatory bail in a Delhi court.
01:44India Today has accessed the bail plea.
01:48In the petition, Luthras have alleged witch hunt in the case
01:52and claimed they had all the required documents to run the nightclub.
01:57The Luthras also argued that the brothers had gone to Thailand for work on December 6 itself
02:02and that they are unable to return as they are anticipating arrest in Delhi.
02:08The brothers alleged that vindictive nature was being shown by authorities against them.
02:13The plea says that Luthras and their partner were not involved in the day-to-day operations,
02:18which were managed by the on-ground restaurant managers.
02:23But the heat on them is rising.
02:26Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawan declared that the owners will be arrested soon.
02:31He assured strict action against those who flout rules across Goa.
02:35So far, six people have been arrested in the Arpora nightclub fire case,
02:41including Luthras' partner Ajay Gupta.
02:44Three government officials have been suspended.
02:46India Today confronted Ajay Gupta, who is the latest to be arrested.
03:11He claims to be only a sleeping partner with Luthras.
03:15I am sleeping partner with Luthras.
03:23यह पक्डा तब गया जब इसने कमर में दर्द बताकर
03:29लाजपतनगर के एक हॉस्पीटल में जाकर
03:31यह एड्मिट हो गया
03:32एड्मिट होते ही पुलिस को जानकारी मिली
03:34पुलिस की टीम हॉस्पीटल पहुंची
03:36और वहाँ पर जो भी जाच थी
03:38The court has allowed transit remand of Ajay Gupta.
04:03However, GST documents accessed by India Today show Ajay Gupta registered as one of the
04:10partners with Luthara Brothers.
04:14As the rubble of birch lies cold and silent, families still wait for justice.
04:20This is no longer about licenses or paperwork.
04:24It's about responsibility.
04:26It's about accountability.
04:27With Divye Singh, Dipesh Tripathi and Himanshu Singh, Vera Report, India Today.
04:33Some piece of breaking news coming in now.
04:42Sources are telling India Today that the Ministry of External Affairs has received a communication
04:46from the government of Goa with regards to Gaurav Luthra and Swarov Luthra.
04:52It is examining the request to revoke the passports under the Passports Act of India as per the
04:59rules.
05:00Let me go straight to Geeta Mohan who is getting us this big piece of breaking news.
05:05Geeta, give us the details.
05:08Well, the effort initially was to locate, geolocate Swarov and Gaurav Luthra and after having
05:14done that, knowing that they are in Thailand.
05:16India-Thailand share very good relations, Maria and Thailand in the recent past has deported
05:23many a criminal and fugitive to India.
05:25And therefore, the pressure on Goa administration to ensure that not just the Bureau of Immigration,
05:32but also the Ministry of External Affairs are made aware of the fact that they are in Thailand
05:37and that they need to look into how to get them deported or sent repatriated to India.
05:43For now, it doesn't seem like the brothers are willing to or going to return.
05:48So, a request was sent by the authorities of Goa to the Ministry of External Affairs to
05:56revoke their passports because when that happens, deportation would be a normal process.
06:01It is part of protocol.
06:03And sources have told India today that they have received the communication from Goa government
06:09and right now they are reviewing and examining the request to revoke the passport.
06:14Geetha, thank you so much for joining us.
06:16Let me go straight to Debesha Singh who joins me from Goa, Anjuna in Goa to be specific.
06:22And all these developments, remember, are coming on a day that the Luthra brothers actually
06:28moved an anticipatory bail plea in the court in Goa and they had alleged vindictive nature
06:37being shown by authorities against them.
06:39What does it actually mean?
06:40I mean, they are answerable to what has happened.
06:45They can't just blame it on the ground managers.
06:48Well, exactly.
06:52The role of Luthra brothers, like they were running this club.
06:56They were running this club, this nightclub where this tragedy struck 25 innocent people
07:01lost their lives because they were running it illegally on government land and that too
07:07without specific permits, without any fire safety precautions, without any trade licenses.
07:14And despite that, they are now claiming or they are now alleging that the Goa government
07:20is being vindictive towards them.
07:22What about the 25 innocent lives that were lost?
07:24Most of them were their staffers.
07:26They were working for the Luthra brothers and they died in that dead trap.
07:31In that trap that they had created or erected, they died in the basement.
07:3623 people after the 25 dead suffocated to death because there was no exit.
07:43Smoke.
07:44There was smoke in the basement and that led to their deaths.
07:48We spoke to some of the officials, some of the fire department officials also and they
07:52say that there were bodies lying one over another.
07:56So, that was the condition.
07:57Imagine the kind of pain, imagine the kind of suffering that the deceased had suffered
08:03before they died, before they suffocated to death.
08:06So, Ruthra brothers are responsible and answerable.
08:10And they have to be, accountability has to be fixed.
08:13Remember, there has been four days and counting and accountability has to be fixed.
08:18And Luthra brothers are answerable.
08:20Really appreciate your time, Devesh.
08:22You will continue to track the story very closely.
08:24Let me bring in the guests who are joining me now.
08:26Arvind Kumar Jain is a former DGP of Uttar Pradesh.
08:29We have Yatish Nayak, spokesperson of the BJP in Goa.
08:34Gaurav Bakshi is a citizen's right activist and someone who lives in Goa.
08:40So, thank you so much for joining us.
08:43Mr. Jain, since the reporter was highlighting the safety questions, are safety audits and
08:53licensing regulations for clubs in tourist hubs like Goa robust enough?
08:59Or is systemic reforms really needed, urgently needed?
09:05No, systemic reforms are needed.
09:09There are no two opinions about it.
09:11But there are already enough safety checks.
09:15You have to obtain NOC from fire department, from tourism department.
09:20I was shocked to hear one tourist officer saying that Romeo Cafe, which has been demolished
09:27now, was constructed on the land of the Goa tourism department.
09:32And he was feeling he was acting absolutely helpless.
09:36He was saying that once we demolish it, they again construct it on government land.
09:41So, I don't know what is going on at Goa.
09:45I think audit has to be done of all the hotels, of all such cafes which are being run on seacoast.
09:54And it should be done as early as possible.
09:57Mumbai High Court has also taken up a PIL, and they are also going to pass orders.
10:02I hope they pass orders that there should be a court-monitored investigation in this case,
10:08because it is required.
10:09All possible violations were there, same entry point, same exit point, very narrow point.
10:16And bamboos were there all over the place.
10:19So, it was an inferno.
10:24And naturally, so many lives were lost, people couldn't run away from that place.
10:29And it was constructed on saltpan area, which is not permissible in Goa.
10:36Yes.
10:37And there was demolition order from High Court that the bar should be demolished.
10:43But the government didn't demolish it, they just demolished a part of it and left the entire thing.
10:50So, there is collusion.
10:52And I am told that Anjuna police and crime branch, they wanted to take action.
10:56But some retired and serving IPS and IES officers of Goa, they didn't allow them to take action.
11:03Okay, perhaps Yatish Nayak will be able to answer that, you know.
11:06Because Goa is a major tourist hub, yet clubs operate without proper permissions and safety licenses.
11:12That's the truth as well.
11:15So, can the government, or should I say, does the government also bear responsibility for such lapses?
11:22You know, first of all, this particular unfortunate incident that has happened is very condemnable.
11:29You see, there is a set rule of law.
11:33There are rules, procedures, regulations, all of it in place.
11:37But, however, I do not know how this particular club was doing such business.
11:41And that's exactly the reason why Honourable Chief Minister, when this unfortunate incident has happened,
11:46Honourable Chief Minister and the government has instituted a magistral inquiry.
11:50And if you see the terms of reference of that inquiry,
11:54it is to go to the bottom of it, go and unearth the root of the whole issue and fix accountability.
12:02So, it takes a tragedy for the government to wake up?
12:07See, first of all, this particular, how this business was going on, how, who connived,
12:14who has turned a blind eye, how this was happening, this whole thing has to be unearthed.
12:20Because Honourable Chief Minister and the government is very firm that this kind of an illegality
12:25cannot be tolerated, cannot be permitted.
12:28And there is a procedure in place, there is a State Pollution Control Board in place,
12:32there are multiple authorities.
12:34But, however, in spite of all that, how is it that this particular thing,
12:38this particular business was going on in this illegal fashion?
12:41See, another thing that I need to mention to you, this particular place was also subjected to a noise pollution,
12:50F.I.R. in 2024, August. It has been chart-sheeted. The matter has been chart-sheeted.
12:56The other that Romeo Lane, whatever, has been demolished, it was demolished earlier also.
13:00And how did it come up again?
13:02They have gone ahead and built it over again.
13:04Yes. So, there is...
13:06So, now it has been demolished again. So, though government had demolished it,
13:09though government had demolished it, these people went ahead and constructed over it again.
13:13So, let me ask that question to a citizen who is running a group.
13:19So, you can understand...
13:20So, no...
13:21One second, if I may only be permitted to conclude.
13:24Yes. But, Yathir ji, the question is also that you understand the lapses.
13:29You understand the lapses and yet no action has been taken.
13:32So, government, they have no magistral inquiry. Let the whole thing come out.
13:35Okay. So, let the whole thing come out, but what about...
13:38And let accountability be fixed.
13:40Okay. So, but the accountability has to be fixed also within the government.
13:46Because these are some high profile individuals who are being brazen
13:51and they are accusing your government in Goa of being vindictive.
13:56So, Gaurav Bakshi, how transparent and accountable has the law enforcement been in Goa?
14:04There is no such thing as transparency in Goa, Maria.
14:07There is no such thing as accountability in Goa.
14:09Let me give a little explanation on this.
14:11This is a complete hogwash that Mr. Nayak is trying to protect and defend the BJP,
14:15which is ironic and unfortunate when Indian citizens have been burnt alive
14:20because of the government's deliberate creation of, by design, an environment where they only want illegalities to flourish,
14:31to crime to flourish, the drug mafia to flourish.
14:34And by that, let me give you facts.
14:3610,000 plus illegal structures exist across Goa that have been already noted and identified,
14:43who applied for regularization, bulk of which were never regularized.
14:46These are official applications.
14:48Imagine the number of illegal structures that exist otherwise could be anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 illegal structures.
14:54The government has legally permitted illegal structures to be able to obtain operating licenses to run commercial businesses.
15:02I run a legal startup and we actually do this.
15:05We know exactly how it works.
15:06So, the government has made it optional.
15:08When you want to run a club in an illegal structure, they say,
15:11okay, we'll keep it optional.
15:12You don't need to have a legal structure.
15:14This is a disastrous policy of the government itself, which the High Court saw and pulled them up last year
15:23when they realized that there was rampant illegal structures and construction across Goa.
15:28It's splattered across the entire state.
15:30What I'm coming to is illegality, illegal structures, clubs and businesses and all kinds of commercial activities happening is the norm.
15:41This is not an exception. This is not an accident.
15:45Yatish Nayak, if this is what the citizens feel, then your government doesn't have strict enforcement of licensing and safety norms.
15:55Maria, I have one more quick point here.
15:57Yes, please, quickly.
15:58Michael Lobo, the MLA has a Nazari resort which has the demolition order on it.
16:03The MLA of the sitting government has an illegal structure which is operating a commercial business.
16:08He has not demolished it and he's got a contempt notice a few days back on the 1st of December.
16:13This is the government of Goa.
16:15They are completely an entity focused on enforcing and encouraging crime, propagating and encouraging crime.
16:21May I answer now?
16:22Okay, Yatish, these are…
16:23May I answer?
16:24May I answer?
16:25The concern is of stricter regulation which is missing oversight and that's why these tragedies are happening.
16:31No, that's not correct.
16:32See, as I told you earlier, there are statutory agencies in Goa, there are departments in Goa who are supposed to ensure the compliance to permissions and ensure that this rule of law is kept.
16:46And the government is wedded to ensure the rule of law.
16:50However, this particular incident which has happened, though it is unfortunate, government is very, very firm in ensuring that you go to the root of it.
16:58Please don't say…
16:59I mean, I do not agree with Mr. Bakshi here when he says the government is doing…
17:02The government is very firm in ensuring that illegalities of this kind do not happen.
17:06Because you can see from the terms of reference of the Magistral Inquiry…
17:11Let me complete.
17:12Let me complete.
17:13You see the terms of reference of the Magistral Inquiry.
17:15In fact, the terms of reference are such that the Magistral Inquiry has got powers to record statements of people, go to the root of it, collect documents and give the report within seven days and fix accountability.
17:28I am again mentioning to you, apart from this particular Magistral Inquiry, there is also an order issued by the government whereby Safety Audit Committee has been constituted.
17:39There is another order whereby a Joint Enforcement and Monitoring Committee has been constituted.
17:44So government's initiative to ensure that the people who do business by virtue of legal provisions to protect them is firm.
17:54But those who are doing business by violating law and illegally, government is not helping such enterprises.
18:01Let that be very clear.
18:03And most importantly, I would say, when the government itself says…
18:07Let me complete.
18:08Let me complete.
18:09When the government itself says, when the Chief Minister himself says that he wants to go to the bottom of it, the government and the administration needs to go to the bottom of it, fix accountability.
18:18I think when the Magistral Inquiry has been mandated with a period of seven days to go into detail and fix accountability, I think we should all, you know, be with the government in ensuring that accountability…
18:29If a society advocate such as you, Gaurav Bakshi should wait, that is what the government representative here is saying, the BJP spokesperson.
18:38May I, Maria?
18:39Yes, please.
18:40So a few facts, very important facts.
18:43Law and order.
18:44Justice delivery was number one in 2019 when CM Sawant became Chief Minister in 2019.
18:49It was already number one amongst the small states of India.
18:52As per the Justice India delivery report at that time.
18:55In 2025, this year, it has gone down to the last ranking across all states of India.
19:01Justice delivery has been demolished by Chief Minister Sawant as Home Minister in the last six years.
19:06It's the worst in the country.
19:07That means law and order has been demolished.
19:09This is a fact.
19:10I'm not making it up.
19:11This is the India Justice delivery report.
19:13Number two, there's a vigilance department which is supposed to act against corrupt officers.
19:17Mr. Nayak, are you aware of this department?
19:19710…
19:20I am fully aware and I am also fully aware that the conviction rate is very high.
19:23710 complaints have been received in the last six years.
19:25Can I complete, please?
19:26Mr. Nayak, can I complete?
19:28710 complaints have been received by citizens by this department in the last six years.
19:32Not a single FIR on those complaints received or registered by this department.
19:37Not a single Mr. Nayak.
19:39Only six FIRs were registered once a few handful of citizens approached the court.
19:44And the court, the local magistrate, directed that FIR would be registered.
19:49That means the government was deliberately asking the vigilance department not to register FIRs.
19:53They were found to be valid by the court and upon direction, six FIRs were registered.
19:58The remaining six that have been registered were because the government itself found incredible lapses within
20:04and they were forced to go after their own six officers.
20:06But not a single citizen's complaint was converted to an FIR.
20:10Please understand what kind of protection the government is giving to all its officers.
20:13A quick response and then I'll give the last word to the former DGPS.
20:17Yes, please. Yes, please.
20:19You see the statistics that have come out in December 2024.
20:23Let me answer. Let me answer.
20:25You see the statistics that have come out in December 2024.
20:29It is very clear that Goa has a detection rate of 96.6% in heinous times and 88% in overall cases.
20:38I am talking of the recent figures.
20:40I mean, as far as law and order is concerned, the government has got figures which show,
20:45I mean, the figures are in public domain which show the government is very sincere.
20:49The government and the prosecuting agencies and the police are doing their job.
20:53I mean, let it be very clear. These are all in public domain.
20:55Is the police really doing its job, Aravind Kumar Jain?
20:59Sir, go ahead.
21:00Because you know, one thing is also becoming clear.
21:02Because had the enforcement by the police of checks and licenses been in place,
21:09then this tragedy could have been perhaps avoided.
21:13Isn't the police then equally responsible?
21:16Yes, police is also responsible.
21:19Police is supposed to maintain law and order in their area.
21:23They are supposed to check licenses.
21:25They don't know that Kadaki dancer who was there,
21:29whether she was on a work permit or was she on a tourist permit.
21:34They are not even aware of it.
21:36Although every foreigner has to report to police to LIU whenever they report in a state.
21:42So normal functioning is missing.
21:46Drug minace is there.
21:48Drug minace is absolutely out of all proportions in Goa.
21:52And there is no check on it.
21:54Israeli gangs are there. Russian gangs are there.
21:57And they are indulging in drug trade.
22:00And there is nobody to check it.
22:02I am told that even a few policemen, they don't dare to enter those colonies, those areas.
22:08So, Goa government will have to take very stringent measures.
22:12Since you made that point of this particular lane, Romeo lane, correct me, Yatish.
22:17If I may put it on record.
22:19No, one moment, Yatish.
22:20Let me ask the question.
22:22Since you say that efforts were made to demolish the pubs on this lane,
22:27and yet they came up, and hence they have been demolished again.
22:32The question is, when constructions were happening, what were the cops in that area doing?
22:37I will answer this question.
22:39But before that, I want to put something on record.
22:41As Mr. Verma has said here, I don't agree with him that there are any gangs or anything like that in Goa.
22:47This is completely false.
22:49As far as your question is concerned about police and about law enforcement,
22:56I'll put it again on record that no such illegal activity is supported by the government or any of the departments.
23:02However, if any such illegal structure has come up, which we have seen, the government has taken action periodically.
23:12which has been used for demolition of these areas.
23:14Everything is as per law.
23:16Okay, but we'll wait and see whether those who lost their lives, they will get justice.
23:21It's four days and counting.
23:23We're putting the spotlight on this story.
23:25It's a story which is of huge significance.
23:29Thank you so much for joining us, Gaurav Bakshi, Yatish Nayak and Arbind Kumar.
23:33And that's all from me.
23:34Thanks so much for watching.
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