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New Delhi [India], January 23 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at nine premises in Delhi, Goa and Haryana in connection with its ongoing probe into the Goa nightclub fire case, officials said. The searches are linked to Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, with five locations being searched in Delhi, three in Goa and one in Haryana’s Gurugram, including their residential premises. The ED search operations have been underway since early Friday morning at residential and office premises of the Luthra brothers and Ajay Gupta, owners of Birch by Romeo Lane, Arpora, Goa, to probe the money-laundering angle linked to the illegal functioning of the club and the role of its promoters. In the backdrop, the December 6, 2025,
fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane resulted in 25 fatalities and injuries to several others. The Luthra brothers, promoters of the nightclub, who reportedly fled to Thailand shortly after the fire, were later deported back to India on December 17 and are currently detained by the Goa police. ED’s Goa unit is conducting the searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to trace alleged financial irregularities connected to the case. Searches are being conducted at 8-9 locations across Delhi and Goa, including premises at Outram Lanes (Kingsway Camp) and Tatvam Villas, Gurugram, as well as the premises of the then Sarpanch, Roshan Redkar, and the Panchayat Secretary, Raghuvir Bagkar, in Goa, who are alleged to have facilitated and issued illegal trade licences and NOCs. Further, ED teams are also present at the premises of Surinder Kumar Khosla to examine the money-laundering angle arising from the illegal conversion of khazan land (salt pan) on which Birch by Romeo Lane was situated. Officials said the searches aim to examine documents related to the ownership, operations and financial transactions of the entities under scrutiny. The probe stems from the major fire incident in Goa that had raised serious concerns over violations of safety norms and alleged lapses in regulatory compliance. Following the incident, multiple agencies initiated investigations to ascertain criminal liability, including possible money laundering linked to illegal construction, licensing violations and financial gains derived from non-compliance with fire and safety regulations. Sources indicated that the ED’s investigation is based on a predicate offence registered by local authorities, after which the central agency stepped in to examine the money trail. (ANI)
