The Goa police on Thursday filed a chargesheet against nightclub owners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra in a second FIR linked to the December 2025 fire at Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa’s Arpora village that killed 25 people.
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The 2,306-page chargesheet names 50 witnesses and five accused, including the Luthra brothers; their partner in M/s Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, which owned the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, Ajay Gupta; Dinesh Khera; and excise department clerk Gauresh Gawas.
According to the chargesheet, the Luthra brothers and Gupta submitted a forged no-objection certificate from the local health centre while applying for an excise licence, which was later issued to them.
An NOC from the health department is necessary for a club to obtain permission to operate.
The Arpora fire tragedy at Birch by Romeo Lane, an illegally operating nightclub, occurred on the intervening night of December 6 and 7, 2025, killing 25 people — five tourists and 20 staff members. The brothers, who had flown to Thailand within hours of the tragedy, were repatriated to India after an Interpol notice was issued against them and their passports were suspended.
The FIR, filed on December 7, charges them under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125(a) and (b) (endangering life and personal safety), and 287 (negligent conduct with fire or combustible matter) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A second FIR alleging cheating and forgery was also filed against the Luthras and Ajay Gupta for allegedly fabricating documents as part of the application process.
The chargesheet said that due to the irresponsible acts of the accused, 25 people lost their lives, causing “irreparable loss which shattered 25 families, reflecting gross criminal negligence and utter disregard for human life and complete failure of the accused to adhere to statutory and safety norms.”
