The Luthra brothers — Gaurav, 44, and Saurabh, 40 — told a Delhi court that they feared being “lynched in Goa,” as the state’s police charged them with murder and other offences over the fire that killed 25 people at their Arpora nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, last Saturday.
Their anticipatory bail plea, moved before the Rohini additional sessions court, was rejected on December 11, with the judge observing that the allegations were “grave and serious.”
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The duo fled to Thailand hours after the blaze and have since been detained there; they are expected to be deported soon.
Seeking four weeks’ transit anticipatory bail, their lawyers — senior advocates Sidharth Luthra and Tanvir Ahmed Mir — argued that the brothers faced a threat to their safety upon returning to India and required protection only to approach the courts in Goa.
The owners of the Romeo Lane chain also cited the bulldozer action taken against their other Goa properties after the tragedy as evidence of potential unfair treatment by authorities.
