Goa, Dec 10: While the Goa police have initiated a violent crackdown on the hoteliers following the night-club fire, , the Goa Tourism Department demolished the ‘Romeo Lane’, a beach shack illegally constructed at Vagator by the Luthra brothers.
Carrying out the directive of Chief Minister, Goa Pramod Sawant, the Tourism authorities ponded the illegal construction and reclaimed the 198 sqmt of land encroached here.
The structure, made of wood, was completely razed in presence of police using machines, a senior Tourism official said. “This shack is illegally built on government land.
While the alleged ‘Luthra Brothers’, the sole owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ are on the run following the heart-wrenching fire, the police on Tuesday detained Ajay Gupta, Co-owner of the restro-bar.
According to the Goa police, Gupta was one of the four owners of ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, where a devastating fire claimed the lives of 25 persons on the fateful night.
The state police had earlier issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Gupta and another owner Surinder Kumar Khosla. “We have detained Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of the nightclub. This is the sixth person to be held in connection with the case,” a Goa police spokesperson said.
“Earlier, an LOC was issued against him as a police team had failed to find him at his Delhi residence when it visited it there,” he said, adding that Gupta was later found in the national capital and was detained.
He will soon be remanded for judicial custody after the completion of formalities to bring him to Goa, the official said.
Two more owners of the nightclub - Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra – are yet on the run and a blue corner notice has been issued against them.
Among the arrestees, the nightclub’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli were taken to custody soon after the mishap.
Twenty-five persons were killed in the fire at the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in Arpora in North Goa around midnight on Saturday.
