With the transit anticipatory bail pleas of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa, getting rejected yesterday, their arrest upon landing in India from Thailand is imminent.
The brothers had escaped to Thailand soon after a massive fire at their nightclub killed 25 people, including tourists and staff members, on December 6. Most of the staff were trapped in the kitchen and basement and died of suffocation, according to the Goa police.
Gaurav, 44, and his brother Saurav, 40, had fled to Phuket within hours of the tragedy. An Interpol Blue Corner notice was issued on December 9 following a request from the Goa police routed through the CBI. They were detained on Thursday morning, with their pictures in handcuffs holding their passports emerging on social media. They were picked up from Hotel Indigo in Patong Beach.
According to officials, their deportation has been initiated, and the two would be brought to India after completion of exit formalities in Thailand.
What is causing the delay?
Thailand’s legal process is yet to be completed, and News18 quoted sources as saying that it could take at least two more days for the Luthra brothers to be deported to India.
With their passports revoked, as emergency travel document now needs to be prepared for them to leave Thailand. The Indian embassy will then have to wait for other legal formalities to be completed.
The country will cancel the brothers’ tourist visas for misleading immigration officers about their true intentions of the visit, as the Blue Corner notice proves that they were fugitives from Indian law. Once their visa is cancelled, a court order can declared their presence in Thailand illegal, which would pave the way for deportation.
News18 quoted sources as saying that the Luthra brothers are likely to be taken to a detention centre in Bangkok on Friday to complete other legal procedures.
Earlier, while rejecting their transit anticipatory bail plea, Additional Sessions Judge Vandana said the offence was serious in nature. She pointed out that the flight documents showed their tickets to Phuket, Thailand, were booked at 1:17am on December 7, with the flight departing just a few hours later at 5:20am. This information was hidden from the court. Their lawyer had instead claimed they left for Thailand before the fire occurred.
The court also found that the club's licence agreement, trade licence and lease deed had expired. It also dismissed the medical reasons Gaurav provided to support his plea, which included a seizure disorder and hypertension. The judge said that the medical documents were old and did not show any serious condition that would justify temporary protection.
