Goa fire case | Look Out Circular issued against two more owners of Goa nightclub, say police

Panaji: Goa Police issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against another set of owners of the fire-ravaged nightclub, Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

The LOC was issued against Gupta and Khosla, who is a British citizen, hours after 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Thailand following the fire tragedy, which claimed 25 lives on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference at Anjuna police station in North Goa, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma said the LOC has been issued against Gupta and Khosla, both the owners of the nightclub.

"Khosla is a British citizen", Sharma said.

Sharma said the Goa Police is seeking the help of Interpol to bring back Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who fled to Phuket. "All attempts are being made to get them back to India".

"Attempts to trace Saurabh and Gaurav began soon after the fire incident. They were not in Goa at that time", she added.

Sharma said two officers of the Goa government, namely the then Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar and then Goa State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary Shamila Monteiro, have been asked to join the investigation.

Police have so far arrested five persons, including the nightclub’s chief general manager, Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and Bharat Kohli.