The investigation into the deadly fire at a Goa nightclub — a tragedy that claimed at least 25 lives on December 6 — has taken a dramatic turn after officials discovered that the owners, brothers Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, were arranging their escape even as fire crews struggled to save people trapped inside.
Authorities have confirmed that at 1:17 AM on December 7, while firefighters and police were battling the inferno at the Arpora venue, the duo logged into the MakeMyTrip portal and booked tickets to Thailand. Immigration data shows they later boarded IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket, departing from Delhi at 5:30 AM.
On Wednesday, the Rohini Court took up the Luthras’ transit anticipatory bail application. Their petition seeks four weeks of protection from arrest and temporary relief so they can return to India without being taken into immediate custody.
Meanwhile, Goa Police produced co-owner Ajay Gupta before a Delhi court. Gupta had gone missing earlier, leading investigators to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC). He was located in the capital, detained, medically examined, and will soon be taken to Goa for custodial questioning.
Another partner, British citizen Surinder Kumar Khosla, also remains under an active LOC.
Investigators have unearthed another suspicious detail: the phone number used by the Luthra brothers was registered to Ram Hari Singh, a former driver who worked for the family until the 2020 lockdown.
An NDTV visit to Singh’s listed address found he no longer lived there. Speaking later by phone, Singh said he had no idea a SIM card existed under his name and that he had no contact with the family in the past five years.
Police sources say the Luthras owned three vehicles until 2020, but the number of high-end cars in their possession increased significantly before their escape. All of these vehicles have now vanished, and investigators are probing whether they were deliberately removed before the brothers fled.
The family’s upscale home in Goa — constructed only two years ago — has been abandoned since the fire. When officers inspected the property, they found only a dog inside.
An Interpol Blue Corner Notice remains in force for both brothers as the manhunt continues.
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