From luxury to lock-up: Luthra brothers sleep on floor, eat dal-rice; Goa police ask over 80 questions in nightclub fire case

PANAJI: Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora where 25 people died in a fire on Dec 6, spent Wednesday night in the Anjuna lock-up without a fan and had a simple meal of rice, dal, and pickle. Otherwise used to a life of luxury, the brothers spent their first night sleeping on the floor without any mat or blankets. They will continue to be in the police lock-up till Monday.

Goa police have started interrogating both brothers in the case. The Luthra brothers were asked over 80 questions in connection with their associates’ roles, decision-making processes, financial aspects, event permissions, and the involvement of other partners, managers, and organisers.




On Thursday morning, Saurabh was taken for a medical examination at North Goa District Hospital at Mapusa for a routine test. After doctors at the hospital declared him “fit for lock-up”, he was lodged again in the police lock-up.

A senior police officer said that no special treatment was provided to the Luthra brothers, except one person was deployed to provide them with medicine on time as per the court’s direction. Police said that the Luthras have been kept in a separate lock-up and not with the other accused arrested in the case.

The Luthras, through their lawyer P V Pavithran, asked the court to grant them a mattress in police custody as Saurabh “suffered from a problem related to the spinal disc” and Gaurav “suffered from a tailbone fracture problem”. Assistant public prosecutor Tejas Pawar opposed this demand, stating, “If they have medical issues, what made them book a ticket and fly to Thailand?”

Judicial magistrate first class Puja Sardesai directed police to take the Luthras to a govt hospital for a medical examination. After this was completed, they were produced before the court. The judge consequently rejected the Luthras’ demand, noting that doctors at North Goa District Hospital declared them fit. She reviewed the medical report and said that the examination ruled out the need for special treatment and granted them police custody.

Goa police have arrested Gurgaon resident Ajay Gupta, 55, a partner of the Luthra brothers, New Delhi natives Rajiv Modak, 49, chief general manager, and Priyanshu Thakur, 32, gate manager, along with UP natives Rajveer Singhania, 32, bar manager, Vivek Singh, 27, general manager, and Bharat Kohli from Delhi.

Except for Gupta, the rest of the accused have been remanded in judicial custody on Thursday. Police questioned them regarding licences, agreements, event permissions, internal communications, and other incriminating material under the control of the accused. A senior police officer said that the same questions would be posed to them again.