Goa nightclub fire: First pictures of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra in handcuffs emerge after detention in Thailand

Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, brothers and owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane club in Goa, where a massive fire left 25 dead due to a suspected cylinder blast, were on Thursday detained in Phuket, Thailand. Barely five hours after the tragic fire incident, the Luthra brothers had fled India on an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Phuket. The Indian government later issued an Interpol Blue Notice and a Look-Out Circular against the duo.

Reports say that a team of the Goa Police will travel to Thailand to take custody of the two and bring them back to the country for trial.

First image of Luthra brothers showed them handcuffed and standing with the Thailand Police.

Earlier, police revealed that the duo booked their flight tickets to Phuket on December 7 at 1.17 am, probably when police personnel and firefighters were engaged in dousing the blaze and carrying out rescue operations at their nightclub in Goa.

Fearing arrest, the brothers refused to come back to India and approached a Rohini court in Delhi for anticipatory bail. They argued that they weren’t involved in the daily running of the Arpora club and were being targeted unfairly by the authorities. They also insisted that their trip to Thailand wasn’t an attempt to flee but a pre-planned business visit.