Warnings Ignored in Goa? 25 Dead In Nightclub Fire, Landowner Claims He Flagged Illegalities For Years

Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, the original owner of the land on which Birch by Romeo Lane was located, on Tuesday said he had flagged illegalities about the nightclub, where a fire claimed the lives of 25 people,

and has been fighting a relentless legal battle for 20 years. A massive fire at a popular party venue in Arpora village in North Goa, 'Birch by Romeo Lane', claimed 25 lives. The landowner, Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, while talking to news agency PTI, revealed that the land upon which 'Birch by Romeo Lane' was built belonged to him. Amonkar said he had purchased two plots of land in Arpora village in 1994 and signed an agreement for sale with Surinder Kumar Khosla in 2004. While the agreement was withdrawn within six months as Khosla failed to pay the money, he went up to set up a nightclub on the land. The same nightclub was later taken over by Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra. Within hours of the tragedy, both Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Thailand.

Amonkar said that he had purchased plots measuring 31,000 square metres and 6,000 square metres in Arpora in 1994, and 10 years later, he signed an agreement for sale with Khosla. But the agreement was withdrawn within six months, as Khosla failed to pay the money, he claimed.Amonkar became a whistleblower against the club and filed a complaint against the establishment, along with Sunil Divkar, with the local Arpora-Nagoa panchayat regarding illegalities. The panchayat had issued a demolition notice to Khosla in 2024, which he challenged and got a stay from the Directorate of Panchayat.Amonkar said that while his case against Khosla was pending in the lower court in Goa for the last 20 years, the latter continued his "illegal business" on his land. He said that on December 20, 2023, he had filed a formal complaint with the local panchayat against the construction on his land.

Amonkar, in his complaint, mentioned that there was unauthorised construction of shops, restaurants and six structures and two platforms on alleged saltpans. He said the panchayat conducted a site inspection on January 17, 2024, and a show-cause notice was issued to Khosla on February 15. Amonkar showed the copy of the demolition order to PTI, and it stated that Khosla had failed to produce any documentary evidence proving the legality of the unauthorised structures. However, Khosla managed to get a stay on the local panchayat's order by approaching the Directorate of Panchayat.

Amonkar alleged that Khosla was the main accused in the entire case. "The main accused is Khosla. I have been saying this for years, and I will continue to say it with the same clarity and conviction. He may flee the country," Amonkar wrote in a post on social media. Arpora Sarpanch Roshan Redkar had earlier said that they had attempted to demolish the structure in the past, but could not do so as the Directorate of Panchayat had issued a stay order. The state authorities, on the other hand, have blamed the local panchayat for allowing the illegalities to continue.