Goa Nightclub Fire: Owners Booked Thailand Flight While Rescue Operations Ongoing, Investigation Reveals

An Interpol Blue Corner Notice remains active against both brothers.

New Delhi:

The investigation into the devastating Goa nightclub fire—which claimed at least 25 lives on December 6—has revealed shocking new evidence. The owners, brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, were booking flights to Thailand at the precise moment emergency services were battling the blaze and trying to rescue trapped patrons.

Investigators have confirmed that the Luthra brothers accessed the MakeMyTrip (MMT) travel platform at 1:17 AM on December 7, while Goa Police and Fire Services teams were still conducting rescue operations at the Arpora-based nightclub. Immigration records later showed that the pair boarded IndiGo flight 6E 1073 to Phuket, which departed from Delhi at 5:30 AM.

In Delhi, the Rohini Court reviewed the transit anticipatory bail application filed by the brothers on Wednesday. Their petition requested four weeks of protection from arrest and interim relief to allow them to return from Thailand without facing immediate detention.

Ajay Gupta, one of four owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane establishment, was presented before a Delhi magistrate by Goa Police officers stationed in the capital. Gupta had previously been declared missing, prompting authorities to issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) after failing to locate him at his residence.

Following his detention in Delhi and subsequent medical examination, Gupta will be transported to Goa to face arrest and questioning. Police have also issued an LOC for another co-owner, Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British national.

Further investigation has uncovered that the SIM card used by the Luthra brothers was registered under the name of Ram Hari Singh, their former driver.

When an NDTV team visited the address associated with the mobile number, Singh was absent. When contacted by phone, Singh confirmed he had worked as Saurabh Luthra's driver for two years until being dismissed during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. He stated he was never rehired after restrictions eased.

Singh emphatically denied having any contact with the Luthras for five years and expressed surprise about a SIM card being registered in his name.

Investigators have also identified inconsistencies regarding the family's vehicle ownership. Sources indicate the Luthra brothers owned three cars until 2020, but before fleeing, they reportedly possessed more than four luxury vehicles—all of which have now disappeared. Police are investigating whether these vehicles were deliberately removed prior to their escape to Thailand.

The family's expansive residence in Goa—built two years ago at a cost of several crore rupees—has been abandoned since the nightclub fire. Authorities found only a dog remaining on the premises.

An Interpol Blue Corner Notice remains active against both brothers.