Big Update in Goa Fire Case: First Images of Luthra Brothers After Detention by Thai Police Accessed

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Delhi: The first images of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Goa nightclub where a devastating blaze killed 25 people last week, have now been accessed following their detention in Phuket, Thailand. The brothers, who fled India within hours of the fire, were held by Thai authorities on Wednesday after an Interpol Blue Notice and Look-Out Circular were issued against them. A Goa Police team is expected to fly to Thailand shortly to take custody and bring them back for trial.

Brothers Fled India Hours After Deadly Blaze

The Luthra brothers exited the country on an IndiGo flight from Delhi barely five hours after the inferno at their Arpora-based nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane. Their escape came at a time when the airline itself was undergoing a nationwide operational meltdown, raising early suspicion about how the duo managed to fly out so swiftly.

Goa Inferno CaseTimes Now accesses exclusive pictures of Luthra brothers in detention in Thailand—WATCH.- Luthras handcuffed by Thai authorities@ruchakanolkar15 & @esha__mishra share more details with @prathibhatweets pic.twitter.com/sy9EDNhU0f

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 11, 2025

Investigators later found that the brothers booked their tickets to Thailand at 1.17 am on December 7, around the same crucial window when firefighters and police teams were still battling the flames and searching for survivors at the club.

Claims of Innocence Contradicted by FIR

While the brothers told a Rohini court they were not involved in day-to-day operations and were being targeted vindictively, the FIR filed by Goa Police paints a starkly different picture. According to the complaint:

• The nightclub did not have fire extinguishers, alarms, suppression equipment or a valid fire audit.
• A fire act was performed at the venue “without taking proper care and caution”.
• Staff operated with “full knowledge” that such an act could cause a fatal accident.
• Both the deck and ground floor lacked emergency exits, trapping several guests inside the inferno.

A second property owned by the brothers, a shack in Goa, was demolished on the directions of Chief Minister Pramod Madhav after authorities found it was illegally constructed and lacked basic safety measures.

Goa Government Steps Up Crackdown

Chief Minister Madhav has vowed that the brothers will be brought back “soon” and cautioned nightclub owners across the coastal belt to comply strictly with safety norms or face similar action. Efforts to apprehend the Luthras intensified over the week, with multiple agencies coordinating across borders.On Tuesday, Ajay Gupta, the co-owner of Birch by Romeo Lane, was detained in Delhi. He later told India Today TV that he was only a “sleeping partner” and denied knowledge of safety lapses at the establishment.With the brothers now detained, the next stage will involve Goa Police securing transit custody through Thai authorities and initiating their return to India. Their arrest is expected to push the investigation into its most critical phase, including identifying operational failures and determining criminal liability for the deaths of 25 guests.