Goa Nightclub fire: Interpol Blue Notice issued against two owners, illegal shack demolished
New Delhi/Panaji (PTI): The Interpol has issued a Blue Notice against Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of a Goa nightclub, who are believed to have fled to Thailand just hours after a Saturday blaze claimed 25 lives, while the Goa Police put out a Look Out Circular against another set of owners.
The LOC was issued against Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British citizen, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma told reporters.
Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the two primary owners of the nightclub, are believed to have fled to Phuket in Thailand following the Saturday night tragedy at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in Arpora.
Two days after the horrific tragedy, state authorities on Tuesday demolished a beach shack illegally constructed by the Luthras in Vagator area, and appointed a fire safety audit panel for tourist establishments.
The Goa Chief Minister's office said that an Interpol Blue Corner Notice, meant to gather information about the accused, has been issued against the Luthras.
"A Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against another set of owners of the nightclub, Ajay Gupta and UK citizen Surinder Kumar Khosla, hours after the Luthras fled," said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Varsha Sharma.
ALSO READ: Nightclub fire: Goa govt orders demolition of Vagator beach shack of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra
"All attempts are being made to get the Luthra brothers back to India...they were not in Goa at the time of the incident," she added.
Then Director of Panchayat Siddhi Halarnkar and then Goa State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary Shamila Monteiro have been asked to join the investigation, the DIG said.
The Goa Tourism Department demolished `Romeo Lane', a beach shack illegally constructed at Vagator by the Luthras, on the directive of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and reclaimed the 198 sqmt of land.
The structure, made of wood, was razed using machines, a senior official said, adding the demolition was carried out within two hours in the presence of police.
Police have so far arrested five persons -- the nightclub’s chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli.
Kohli, a resident of Delhi, was allegedly responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the nightclub and was arrested in the national capital.
With the investigation brought to the fore several violations at the nightclub, Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, the original landowner, claimed he had fought a legal battle for 20 years against Khosla, alleging persistent illegalities on the property.
Talking to PTI, Amonkar said he had purchased two plots of land in Arpora village in 1994 and signed an agreement for sale with Surinder Kumar Khosla in 2004, but it was withdrawn within six months as the latter failed to pay the money.
Kholsa went on to set up a nightclub on the land, and it was later taken over by Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, Amonkar claimed.
The Arpora-Nagoa panchayat issued a demolition notice to Khosla in 2024. But Khosla challenged it and got a stay from the Directorate of Panchayat, he said.
"I have been fighting a battle for the last 20 years against Khosla, who has been involved in all kinds of illegalities in this property (land) I own," he said.
In the aftermath of the fire tragedy, the state government constituted a high-level committee to frame SOPs for carrying out a comprehensive safety audit and for granting various licences to nightclubs, bars, restaurants, and tourist establishments.
Various violations of rules by the nightclub are now coming to light. Authorities have found that Kazakh national Kristina, who was performing a belly-dance when the blaze erupted, didn't have the business visa to perform in India.
Arpora Sarpanch Roshan Redkar had earlier said that they had attempted to demolish the structure in the past, but could not do so as the Directorate of Panchayat had issued a stay order.
The state authorities, on the other hand, have blamed the local panchayat for allowing the illegalities to continue.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Monday stated that the sarpanch had signed NOCs for electricity connection, water connection, house repairs and granted a trade licence, among other permissions to the establishment.
The nightclub continued to run even after its trade licence expired in March 2024.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
