PANAJI: In a new development in the Goa Romeo Lane inferno case, investigators have found out that the Luthra brothers, their associates and other managementment staff had supplied and provided fake documents to obtain several licenses. According to media reports, one more FIR may be filed against the Luthra brothers, Gaurav and Saurabh – the owners of the Birch By Romeo Lane in north Goa’s Arpora, for forging officials documents.
25 people lost their lives in the deadly blaze on December 6, that left several injured and maimed, possibly for life.
Sources said they had used forged documents to obtain a licence for the club’s registration. Even documents submitted to the various departments including Pollution Control, Environment, Panchayat and Excise to obtain various licenses, and permissions were based on forged papers.
As far as the police investigation goes, Saurav and Gaurav Luthra, who own the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa, are reportedly not cooperating with police authorities, CNN-News18 reported.
According to sources whom CNN-News18 spoke to, the Luthras are being evasive in answering questions of the Goa police. “They are taking the cops for a ride, trying to avoid giving direct answers and deflecting questions. Every few hours, they complain of some health problem or pain in the back, chest or legs, even after medical examinations have shown no signs of any issue,” a police source said.
There have been four medical examinations of the accused in the last 36 hours, police said. Authorities believe it to be a deliberate tactic by the brothers to waste critical police custody time and divert the attention of the investigating authorities.
According to the Goa police, they contacted the brothers after the fire directly as well as through the staff members and asked them to return to India and join the investigation, a request they flatly refused, reflecting a clear insensitivity towards the deceased and a deliberate attempt to avoid the law, the police have said.
The Luthra brothers and the senior Club management are facing a case of culpable homicide and negligence following the December 6 fire tragedy, which investigators allege was compounded by the nightclub operating in violation of statutory fire safety norms. The incident has raised serious questions over alleged fire safety violations and lapses by the management and has prompted the Goa administration to check the documents of all other clubs, restaurants and nightspots.
Earlier on Tuesday, the two brothers were produced before a Delhi court for a transit remand, after being deported from Thailand. The court permitted the Goa Police their two-day transit remand. They were brought back to Delhi from Thailand on an emergency certificate on Tuesday, since they passports were suspended, from where they were brought to Goa by the State police who took their custody.
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