Goa nightclub fire: Court rejects Luthra brothers’ bail plea in forgery case

GOA: A court in Goa has rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the fire-ravaged Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, in a case related to the alleged forgery of documents to obtain an excise licence.The additional sessions court in Mapusa on Friday dismissed the petition filed by the brothers, their advocate Parag Rao said.The Luthras owned the nightclub in Arpora village of North Goa, where a fire broke out on December 6, 2025, killing 25 people and injuring 50 others, according to news agency PTI. The brothers, who had fled to Thailand after the incident and were deported on December 17, are currently lodged in Colvale central jail in North Goa.While the Anjuna police were probing the duo in connection with the fire, the Mapusa police registered a separate case of forgery, alleging that they submitted fake documents to secure an excise licence for the nightclub.Talking to reporters, advocate Rao said the judge announced that both their anticipatory bail applications were rejected."We are yet to get the detailed judgment. We will have to study the order. We were not expecting it to be rejected," he said.He added that another co-owner, Ajay Gupta, had been granted bail by the court in connection with both the fire and the forgery case.Rao said the brothers had argued that the alleged forged documents were already with the police, and therefore their custody was not required.He also stated that his clients had not applied for the documents in question.The case was registered based on a complaint by the health officer of Candolim Health Centre, who alleged that his signature was forged to create a fake No Objection Certificate (NOC), which was then submitted to the excise department to obtain the nightclub licence.