PANAJI: According to press reports and the media statements of Bhavna Joshi, who lost four members of her family in the fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane club in Arpora, North Goa, the staff of the nightclub tried to control the massive fire on the night of 6 December by throwing water from wine glasses and bottles as they had no fire extinguishers and no buckets.
The massive blaze killed 25 people and left several injured, with families devastated and the victims’ kin now demanding that the investigation and court trial be fast-tracked.
Joshi recounted the horrifying moments outside the Mapusa court on Tuesday after the anticipatory bail hearing of Arpora village panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar and Panchayat Secretary Raghuvir Bagkar.
“I have seen with my own eyes my family members suffocating to death in the fire. What was their fault? You cannot imagine what it is like to retrieve four bodies of your family members from the remains and ashes of a fire,” Joshi told reporters, her voice choking with emotion.
Joshi lost her husband and three sisters in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by fireworks and pyro guns during a dance performance.
Officials said that narrow exit routes inside the nightclub increased the number of fatalities on the fateful night as the trapped people already suffocating due to the smoke were not able to get out.
“The incident occurred just 15 minutes after we entered the nightclub. My husband was busy calming down the people when the fire started. I survived because I was pushed out by people rushing outside the nightclub when they noticed the fire. I tried to go back to search for my family, but they stopped me,” said Joshi, a resident of New Delhi.
She alleged that the nightclub management failed to take effective steps to extinguish the fire and were totally ill-equipped to handle any sort of emergency, forget a full-fledged fire.
“There were no extinguishers. They were throwing water to control the blaze with the help of wine glasses and later with bottles,” she said.
Joshi said her family had saved money for the Goa trip and that the tragedy had left them shattered and in financial distress.
“We come from a middle-class background. We had saved for this Goa trip. The tragedy left us shattered. We are in a crisis and enduring financial trouble,” Joshi added.
A family member accompanying her said they had visited Goa on two occasions this month to follow up on the probe. He added that a lawyer, who is their well-wisher, has volunteered to fight the case without charging any fee.
Another bereaved relative, Vikas Munda, originally from Jharkhand, said he lost his brother in the fire tragedy.
“We want justice for our family members. The accused should not be spared,” he told reporters outside the court. The Mapusa sessions court meanwhile, rejected the anticipatory bail applications of the panchayat officials, stating that the matter was extremely serious and the role of the two officials was clearly visible.
Goa Police have so far arrested eight persons, including three owners of the nightclub. Another owner, Surinder Khosla, is yet to be held and has fled to the UK. The Mapusa court on 26 December extended the police custody of owner-brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra. They have been sent to judicial custody as of today.
The siblings had fled to Thailand just hours after the tragedy that occurred in Arpora village. They were deported to India on 17 December, after the Central Govt. stepped in and even the PMO took action in the case.
Leave a Reply