Owners Luthra brothers get bail in Goa nightclub fire case, to remain in jail
Panaji (PTI): A sessions court at Mapusa in Goa on Wednesday granted bail to Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, in a case related to the devastating fire of last December that killed 25 people.
The Luthras, however, would remain in jail as they were arrested in a case of forgery on Monday.
Hours after a fire broke out at the club situated in Arpora village on December 6, 2025, the brothers fled to Thailand, from where they were deported to India on December 17 and arrested by Anjuna Police.
It was alleged that the nightclub lacked requisite permissions and violated several safety-related rules.
Advocate Parag Rao, their lawyer, said additional sessions judge Dvijple Patkar granted conditional bail to both the brothers in the fire case.
The brothers were taken into custody by Mapusa Police on Monday in an alleged forgery case. Despite getting bail in the fire case, they would continue to remain in prison in the second case.
The duo are accused of forging documents to obtain an NOC from the Health Department which was used to get an Excise License for the club.
The sessions court last week rejected their pre-arrest bail applications in this case. The court on Monday remanded them in the custody of Mapusa Police for four days.
Police have filed a charge sheet for alleged culpable homicide against 13 people including the three owners -- Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta -- in the Arpora nightclub fire case. Gupta was granted bail by a Mapusa court last month.
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West Asia war is not NATO's: UK PM Starmer says he has British national interest in mind
London: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he has vowed to act in the best interest of the United Kingdom amid the West Asia crisis, regardless of the pressure on him and the leaders of the other member-nations of the NATO.
The British PM was speaking to reporters on Wednesday, amid US President Donald Trump's remark that he was strongly considering giving up the US membership of the Organization, reports Deccan Herald.
Stressing that the war in West Asia was not theirs, Starmer said at the press conference at Downing Street, “We will not be drawn into the conflict that is not in our national interests. Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I'm going to act in the British national interest in the decisions that I make.”
In the backdrop of Trump's fresh criticism of the Organization, calling the nations as 'paper tigers', the British PM stood up for the NATO, calling it the single most effective military alliance in the world.
Also, although the US President said that he had held doubts about the credibility of the NATO members for long and felt it was 'beyond reconsideration', Starmer pointed out that the NATO had kept the member-nations safe for many decades. “We are fully committed to NATO,” Starmer added.
