Luthra Brothers' Deportation from Thailand: The Aftermath of Deadly Goa Nightclub Fire

Luthra brothers, Saurabh and Gaurav, being deported from Thailand.

New Delhi:

The Luthra brothers have been deported from Thailand to face criminal charges following a devastating fire at their Goa nightclub, 'Birch by Romeo Lane', which claimed 25 lives on December 7.

NDTV has obtained footage showing Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra boarding IndiGo flight 6E1064, scheduled to land in Delhi at 2 pm. According to police investigations, the brothers fled India shortly after the fire broke out, booking tickets via MakeMyTrip.com at 1:17 am while firefighters were still battling the blaze, though they later claimed they were traveling for business purposes.

After being tracked and detained by Thai authorities, the Indian government suspended their passports to prevent further escape and coordinated with immigration officials to secure their return.

The tragedy at 'Birch by Romeo Lane' began when the first emergency call reached firefighters at 12:04 am on December 7.

Just before midnight, the dance floor at this popular Goa nightclub was filled with tourists and locals enjoying a performance to the Sholay hit 'Mehbooba...', led by Kristina Sheikh, a professional dancer from Kazakhstan.

Video footage from the venue shows Kristina performing on stage with musicians backing her. Electric firecrackers can be seen igniting in the background as the crowd cheers enthusiastically.

Survivors report that flames soon reached the ceiling, with staff members rushing to remove a laptop from danger. Notably, no alarm or evacuation announcement was made; someone in the video even compliments the dancer for having "set the stage on fire."

The fire spread rapidly, fueled by the venue's highly combustible bamboo and rattan decorations. Thick, toxic smoke quickly enveloped the dance floor, creating confusion and panic when the alarm finally sounded. In the chaos, confused patrons fled into the basement kitchen seeking escape, where they became trapped alongside approximately 20 staff members.

The blaze and toxic fumes quickly engulfed the building, with authorities later confirming that most fatalities resulted from smoke inhalation rather than burns.

Rescue operations were severely hampered by the club's narrow entrance—a single pathway to the building situated in the middle of a small lake. Firefighters reported that the access lanes were too narrow for their trucks, forcing them to park 400 meters away, further complicating rescue efforts.

Meanwhile, the Luthra brothers were attending a wedding nearly 2,000 kilometers away in Delhi.

Upon learning about the fire and resulting deaths, they reportedly instructed their office to book flights to Phuket, Thailand, and rushed home to collect their travel documents at 1:17 am.

Within hours, they were airborne, departing at 5:30 am and reaching Phuket safely. However, their location was revealed after Gaurav Luthra was photographed at the airport during an immigration check.

Twenty-four hours later, Interpol issued a Blue Corner Notice formally requesting Thailand's assistance in confirming the brothers' identities and status. Thai police acted swiftly, locating them at their Phuket hotel and taking them into custody.

The following day, through their legal representation, the Luthra brothers appeared in a Delhi court seeking interim protection from arrest and pre-arrest bail—requests that were promptly denied.

Their lawyer, Senior Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, argued that the brothers were "also human" and emphasized they provide employment to thousands. He maintained they weren't present during the fire and therefore couldn't bear criminal liability, pointing out they manage multiple businesses and don't oversee day-to-day operations.

Mir characterized the deaths as resulting from "negligence"—attributing the fire to a stray flame from pyrotechnics—rather than intentional wrongdoing by the brothers.

Meanwhile, Indian authorities were evaluating options to bring the Luthras back—either through extradition procedures or by triggering deportation via passport suspension, which would place them in violation of Thai immigration laws.

On December 11, four days after the fire, their passports were suspended, automatically initiating deportation from Thailand—a faster process than extradition, which would have required proving in Thai court that sufficient evidence existed to hold them accountable.

A legal complication arose when the brothers, by then in Thai immigration custody, couldn't be returned to India without valid passports.

This necessitated issuing an "outpass" or Emergency Travel Certificate by the Indian embassy in Bangkok—a process delayed by weekend office closures. The document was finally granted on Monday, with return tickets booked for Tuesday morning.