Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the two brother accused in the Goa nightclub fire case, will arrive at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Tuesday from Thailand, where they were held days earlier.
Both Goa Police and Delhi Police teams will be present at the Delhi airport to take custody of the duo, who owned the nightclub that went up in blaze. The update was provided by the Goa Police, as per news agency ANI.
From the airport, the Luthra brothers will be taken to the Patiala House Court, from where the Goa Police will take them on transit remand.
A suspicious exit
The two brothers had left India shortly after the fire broke out at the nightclub in Arpora on December 6, and Goa Police investigators at the time said that the two had booked tickets to leave the country even as emergency responders were fighting the blaze at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub.
Saurabh and Gaurav reportedly booked their tickets on MakeMyTrip at 1:17 am on 7 December, around the same time that firefighters were struggling to bring the deadly blaze under control.
The duo reportedly fled to Phuket in Thailand on the morning of 7 December, taking IndiGo flight 6E 1073 out of India.
Despite the apparent swift nature of the Luthras' exit and the timing of it, their lawyers told a Delhi court that the brothers had not fled, but had instead flew to Phuket to attend a business event.
“My managers (the Luthras) manage 40 restaurants all over India. The men sitting in Delhi cannot be present everywhere. The Luthras had an event to attend in Phuket, therefore booked a ticket. The property of the accused is being bulldozed, there is sealing, we are seeking protection of life and liberty,” Senior advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir recently told a Rohini court, appearing for the brothers.
Beyond the two brothers, six others have been arrested in connection with the case thus far, including club partner Ajay Gupta and chief general manager Rajiv Modak, among others.
What caused the Goa nightclub fire?
The fire, which took place on 6 December at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa, claimed 25 lives.
The fire, which began around midnight on 6 December, was initially believed to have been caused by a cylinder, but investigation revealed the role of negligence behind the deadly blaze.
Illegal pyrotechnics set off at the club during a belly dance performance quickly set the flammable thatched roof on fire. Alcohol stored in the club also fuelled the flames quickly, resulting in multiple deaths by suffocation.
