Goa nightclub fire: Police file chargesheet against 13 persons, including club owners
Panaji (PTI): The Goa police on Thursday filed a chargesheet in a court against 13 persons in connection with the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, which claimed 25 lives and left several others injured in December last year, officials said.
The 13 accused include owners of the nightclub, a police official said.
The Anjuna police filed the 4,150-page chargesheet before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mapusa, in connection with the case, in which statements of 305 witnesses have been recorded, he said.
The blaze occurred at the nightclub located in Arpora, in North Goa, on December 6, 2025, wherein 25 persons were killed and several others were injured.
The accused in the chargesheet include Ajay Gupta, Gaurav Luthra and his brother Saurabh Luthra, all partners of M/s Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, which owned the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub. All three accused are currently in judicial custody, according to the police.
The chargesheet has also named the nightclub's employees, Rajiv Modak (corporate, general manager), Vivek Singh (general manager) and Bijay Kumar Singh (operations manager), as accused. They are also in judicial custody.
The others accused named in the chargesheet are Roshan Redkar, then sarpanch of Arpora-Nagoa Panchayat, and Raghuvir Bagkar, then secretary of the panchayat, both currently in judicial custody, and Priyanshu Thakur (nightclub gate manager) and Rajveer Singhania (bar manager), who are out on bail.
The Anjuna police have also chargesheeted Mayur Kolwalkar and Mohammad Afif Abdulsab Bateri, officials of an event management company which had organised a show at the club on that evening.
Surinder Kumar Khosla, a British National, who is currently on the run, has also been named as an accused in the chargesheet. A Blue Corner Notice has been issued against him, the police said.
The police had registered an FIR against the accused under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 125 (endangering human life) and 287 (negligent handling of fire and combustible material endangering human life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Later, BNS sections 338 (forgery of valuable securities), 336 (forgery), 340 (using forged documents), 61 (criminal conspiracy), 238 (destruction of evidence), 241 (destruction of electronic records) and 3 (7) (committing offence with common intention) were added against the club owners.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
