Ajay Gupta, Luthra bros’ partner, arrested for faking health NOC

Panaji: Mapusa police on Tuesday arrested Ajay Gupta, a partner of Birch by Romeo Lane, in connection with allegedly forging a health officer’s no objection certificate (NOC) to obtain an excise licence.Mapusa police on Monday moved a transfer warrant application before the JMFC, Mapusa, to take custody of Gupta, who was earlier remanded in judicial custody. After hearing arguments in the matter, the JMFC granted a transfer warrant for Gupta to Mapusa police on Tuesday. “We have arrested Gupta,” said PI Mapusa Navin Desai. In the fresh FIR, Candolim primary health centre’s health officer, Dr Roshan Nazareth, said that prior to Dec13, 2025, authorised persons of Birch, which is run by Being GS Hospitality LLP in which the Luthra brothers, Saurabh and Gaurav, are directors, impersonated and forged his signature and made a forged entry in the register to obtain a health NOC.“This was done by the accused persons intentionally, and they prepared a no objection certificate issued by me in order to seek an excise licence,” Nazareth said in the FIR.“Thereafter, the accused persons fraudulently and knowingly produced the forged NOC as genuine before the excise department to carry out the documentary transaction towards the excise licence, and they succeeded in getting the excise licence, thereby cheating the authorities,” said Mapusa police.Meanwhile, the sessions court at Mapusa on Tuesday granted bail to two accused and rejected the bail application of one accused in connection with the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane, where 25 persons died on Dec 6. The court rejected the bail application of general manager Vivek Singh, whereas bail was granted to Rajveer Singhania, bar manager, and Priyanshu Thakur, gate manager.The sessions court reserved for next week the bail order of Bharat Singh on Friday, sarpanch of Arpora Roshan Redkar, and Arpora-Nagoa panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar.The sessions court kept arguments on the bail application for Gupta in the Anjuna police station case for next week.When the fire broke out at the nightclub at around 11.45pm on Dec 6, there were more than 150 tourists attending. A preliminary investigation by police and the directorate of fire services concluded that the fire broke out after electric firecrackers struck the wooden ceiling during the event.