Goa Nightclub Fire: Co-owner Ajay Gupta Detained in Delhi After Alleged Spinal Injury Evade Attempt

Goa Club Fire: Co-Owner Tries to Fake Spinal Injury to Evade Arrest; Police Block Escape Attempt.

In the ongoing investigation into the devastating fire at the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in Arpora, Goa, which claimed 25 lives, one of the co-owners, Ajay Gupta, has been detained after allegedly attempting to evade arrest by admitting himself to a private hospital in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar under the pretext of a spinal injury.

Police believe the hospital admission was a deliberate ploy to avoid detention after a Look Out Circular was issued against him. A Goa Police team, working with Delhi Police, traced him to the hospital, and after doctors confirmed he did not have a serious condition preventing custody, Gupta was detained and handed over to the Delhi Crime Branch.

 He will be produced in a Delhi court to secure a transit remand so he can be taken back to Goa for questioning, though he has claimed he was merely a “sleeping partner” with no knowledge of safety lapses at the club. Meanwhile, the primary owners, brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, fled to Phuket, Thailand just hours after the fire and are currently being tracked under a Blue Corner Notice issued by Interpol, with Indian agencies coordinating efforts to bring them back.

Another accused, British national Surinder Kumar Khosla, who owns the property leased to the Luthras, is also under a Look Out Circular, while five other staff members have been arrested as the investigation into one of Goa’s worst fire tragedies deepens.