Goa govt forms panel to probe nightclub fire

Panaji: The Goa government on Monday constituted a four-member magisterial inquiry committee to ascertain the facts and circumstances that led up to the massive fire that gutted a nightclub, killing 25 people.

According to officials, fireworks have emerged as the likely cause of the blaze at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’, a popular party venue in Arpora village, 25 km from Panaji. As many as 20 nightclub employees and five tourists died in the incident late on Saturday night.

Under Secretary (Home) Manthan Manoj Naik issued the order constituting the inquiry committee with North Goa District Collector Ankit Yadav as chairperson.

The committee members include South Goa Superintendent of Police Tikam Singh Verma, Director of Forensic Sciences Ashutosh Apte and Rajendra Halarnkar, deputy director, Fire and Emergency Services.

The committee will examine the sequence of events leading to the fire, verify the compliance of all statutory licences and determine the lapses.

It will also fix accountability on agencies or departments responsible and recommend preventive and corrective measures, the order stated.

Co-owner offers aid, support to victims’ kin

Saurabh Luthra, one of the owners of the North Goa nightclub, used social media on Monday to express “profound grief” and vowed to provide assistance, support and cooperation to the victims’ families in “every possible form”.

The social media post comes at a time when police teams have been sent from Goa to Delhi to arrest the management of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ club.

“The management expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of lives resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birch,” the owner said in his post on Instagram.

He said the management further affirms that it shall extend every possible “form of assistance, support and cooperation to the bereaved and affected individuals, as they navigate through this period of immense anguish and adversity.”

Police investigations so far have indicated multiple irregularities at the entertainment venue, including absence of a No Objection Certificate from the fire department and issuance of licence without proper documentation.

Fire officials had said earlier the club, located on the backwater of the Arpora river, had small exit doors connected only by a narrow bridge, which severely hampered the escape of people during the blaze.

So far, the Goa Police has arrested the club’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur in the case.

Police have also detained Bharat Kohli, a resident of Sabzi Mandi in Delhi, who was responsible for overseeing daily operations at the nightclub.

‘Club owners not at home’

A Goa Police team on Monday reached the Delhi residence of Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra as part of its probe into the incident. However, the Luthra brothers were not there. The team questioned members of the Luthra family to determine their current whereabouts, sources said.