PANAJI: The original owner of the plot on which the ill-fated Romeo Lane club was illegally built, a local Goan Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, speaking to this reporter on phone has alleged that Surinder Kumar Khosla was very much in Goa on the day of the fire.
“He was present at the venue when the fire started. He could hear the screams of those trapped inside the burning club. Instead of helping the victims of the fire, he did nothing and instead fled to the UK, since he is a British citizen,” Amonkar claimed.
Amonkar in an interview to PTI has alleged that the Goa police under the orders and influence of “some big guys” were protecting Surinder Kumar Khosla, one of the main accused in the case of the fire at the club which killed 25 persons.
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“In spite of knowing that there was ongoing litigation, that the club was built illegally and that the club flouted every rule in the book, the Goa police allowed Khosla who is a British passport holder to flee to the UK after the devastating fire at Birch by Romeo Lane club in the jurisdiction of the Arpora-Nagoa village panchayat,” Amonkar was quoted by PTI as saying. Amonkar has blamed panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bhagkar and sarpanch Roshan V Redkar for the entire fire episode. “They were empowered to seal the premises but they didn’t,” he said.
Khosla had purchased the plot from Amonkar, but failed to make the entire payment. As a result of which, Amonkar cancelled the purchase agreeement and is now fighting a civil case against Khosla to get his property back. The panchayat, GCZMA and others were informed in writing that those applying for permissions didn’t own the land and the construction was illegal, he told PTI.
Amonkar had handed over the property to Khosla, who further entered into an agreement with the Luthra brothers, who created the Romeo Lane club brand in Goa. Earlier, Khosla had his own restaurant and club, which was not successful and hence he roped in the Luthra brothers who were more than willing to lease the property from Khosla.
Amonkar alleged that despite being the “prime accused”, Khosla managed to leave the country as he was “being protected by some big guys”. “He was in Goa on the day of the fire and near the club premises when the fire started. Why was he allowed to leave the country,” Amonkar asked?
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He stated that the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat and the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary issued the “trade license” and permission to the nightspot, in spite of being informed in writing that the sale deed was revoked, that Khosla was an illegal occupant of the property and that the land did not belong to those (the Luthra brothers) who had sought the trade license.
“The panchayat was informed that the documents were forged, yet trade license was issued by the panchayat acting on forged licenses,” Amonkar alleged, adding that the panchayat officials are equally responsible for the fire and deaths. “While the trade license is normally signed by the Panchayat Secretary, in this case the sarpanch himself signed on the permissions,” Amonkar explained, adding that the panchayat has to take the blame for the incident.
“If the panchayat was vigilant and had acted on my complaint, 25 innocent lives would have been spared,” Amonkar said, adding that those who signed the documents knowing about the litigation are equally responsible and must be arrested.
Goa police have claimed that the Luthra brothers used forged documents to obtain the trade license and other permissions including Environment, Pollution, Police and other licenses for the club. The original documents were forged, the cops have said, adding that they will be filing one more case against the partners of the club for forgery and fraud.
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