Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 16: Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Goa nightclub where a fire on December 6 claimed 25 lives, were brought back to India from Bangkok on Tuesday under an emergency certificate. The brothers arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 2:10 pm on an IndiGo flight and were immediately taken into custody by the Goa Police.

At the Thai airport, the Luthras were seen wearing masks and escorted by immigration and security officials. Upon their return, they are set to be presented before the Patiala House Court by the Delhi Crime Branch and Goa Police to seek transit remand, after which they are expected to be flown to Goa by Tuesday night.

A special team of CBI and intelligence officials had traveled to Phuket, Thailand, on Saturday to facilitate the deportation. The brothers were initially detained at Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong and later moved to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok. Following the suspension of their passports by the Indian government, the Indian Embassy issued emergency travel certificates, allowing their return.

The Luthras allegedly fled to Thailand shortly after the fire, leaving while emergency teams were still rescuing trapped victims. Thai authorities detained them last week for overstaying without valid documents. In parallel, India’s Regional Passport Office issued a notice seeking justification for their passports, which were ultimately impounded after a lookout circular was issued. The extradition process was supported by the India-Thailand treaty in effect since June 2015.

Investigations by Goa Police revealed that the Birch nightclub had been operating illegally for the past 18 months, without mandatory permissions and on an expired licence that had not been renewed since 2024. Despite these violations, no preventive action was taken before the December 6 fire.

Authorities have already arrested several others linked to the nightclub, including Ajay Gupta, Rajiv Modak, Priyanshu Thakur, Rajveer Singhania, Vivek Singh, and Bharat Kohli. The fire, which broke out around 11:45 pm during an event attended by over 150 tourists, was reportedly triggered when electric firecrackers ignited the wooden ceiling, causing the blaze to spread rapidly.