Nightclub chain tycoons flip runaways: Luthra brothers' swift rise in 10 yrs, then escape to Thailand after Goa inferno

[ad_1] Delhi-based entrepreneur brothers Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra made headlines as hospitality tycoons not way back. Till a fireplace at their nightclub in Goa — ‘Birch’, a part of their India-wide chain of pubs, eating places and golf equipment below the umbrella model ‘Romeo Lane’ — killed 25 individuals final Saturday night time. It additionally revealed many alleged illegalities of their empire.

<source media="(max-width:767px)" srcset="https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-img/img/2025/12/09/550x309/luthra_1765289039136_1765289055229.png" alt="An excavator demolishes wooden structures at Romeo Lane on Anjuna beach after a fire at the adjacent Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub killed 25 people, in Goa on Tuesday, December 9. Chain Owners Saurabh Luthra (inset) and his brother Gaurav have fled India. (Photos: PTI, Instagram/@saurabhluthra16)" title="An excavator demolishes wooden structures at Romeo Lane on Anjuna beach after a fire at the adjacent Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub killed 25 people, in Goa on Tuesday, December 9. Chain Owners Saurabh Luthra (inset) and his brother Gaurav have fled India. (Photos: PTI, Instagram/@saurabhluthra16)"/> <img src="https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-img/img/2025/12/09/550x309/luthra_1765289039136_1765289055229.png" alt="An excavator demolishes wooden structures at Romeo Lane on Anjuna beach after a fire at the adjacent Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub killed 25 people, in Goa on Tuesday, December 9. Chain Owners Saurabh Luthra (inset) and his brother Gaurav have fled India. (Photos: PTI, Instagram/@saurabhluthra16)" title="An excavator demolishes wooden structures at Romeo Lane on Anjuna beach after a fire at the adjacent Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub killed 25 people, in Goa on Tuesday, December 9. Chain Owners Saurabh Luthra (inset) and his brother Gaurav have fled India. (Photos: PTI, Instagram/@saurabhluthra16)"/> An excavator demolishes wood constructions at Romeo Lane on Anjuna seaside after a fireplace on the adjoining Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub killed 25 individuals, in Goa on Tuesday, December 9. Chain Homeowners Saurabh Luthra (inset) and his brother Gaurav have fled India. (Pictures: PTI, Instagram/@saurabhluthra16) They're making headlines nonetheless, however for being runaways to Thailand. Police from at the very least two states, Delhi and Goa, plus central businesses and the Interpol at the moment are attempting to catch them.

The brothers face a Look Out Round (LOC) issued by Goa Police, as do two of their co-owners. The Luthra brothers stay the principle gamers and the face of the model, extra so Saurabh for his public appearances.

Escape earlier than motion: They made their escape shortly. The hearth report was first acquired by the Goa Police at 12:04 am, Sunday, when the membership was filled with the Saturday night time get together crowd. Lower than six hours later, at 5:30 am on Sunday, the Luthras were aboard an IndiGo flight (6E 1073) fleeing India, touchdown in Phuket, Thailand, round 11 am.

IndiGo was in any other case mass-cancelling flights over new pilot work-hour norms and different points, however its few worldwide flights have been unaffected.

The brothers' escape was profitable additionally earlier than notices have been issued towards them by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) and police might attain their Delhi addresses.

From a joint to a series, how Luthra brothers rose Police visited the Luthras' Delhi residences and places of work, together with a locked bungalow in Outram Traces and a locked workplace in Mannequin City. A neighbour in Outram Traces noted , “The household has been residing right here for years. The sons personal many eating places and now have lodges. We don’t know the place they're however haven’t seen them.”

Saurabh Luthra was energetic on-line, posting a statement on Instagram : “The administration expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic lack of lives ensuing from the unlucky incident at Birch.”

The brothers are referred to as first-generation restaurateurs . Saurabh Luthra, the extra seen one, has a BTech diploma in software program engineering from a college in Gujarat. Earlier than shifting to hospitality, he labored for 10 years as a enterprise growth supervisor, it's learnt. Extra particulars on Gaurav and the household should not accessible but.

Enterprise-wise, Saurabh ventured into the restaurant enterprise in 2015 with a restaurant, Mama’s Buoi, in North Delhi’s Hudson Lane, adopted by one other model referred to as Dramebaaz. These have been small joints as in comparison with what he and his brother constructed later.

Their breakout success got here in 2019 with the opening of the flagship nightclub Romeo Lane in Delhi's Civil Traces. The model shortly expanded into an enormous hospitality empire. At current, it spans at the very least 37 cities in India, together with Noida, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Lucknow, and has some worldwide presence with shops in Dubai and London. They'd plans to open an outlet in New York, it's learnt. Firm web sites point out the institutions are collectively run by the brothers and different traders of franchisees.

Irregularities at golf equipment ‘regardless of complaints’, now bulldozer motion The enterprise noticed some controversy earlier than too, significantly regarding their Goa institutions.

The native sarpanch in Arpora has said they didn't have the permissions for the Birch membership there. However that they had received keep orders on enchantment towards demolition notices. This matter was ongoing.

Now, authorities are underlining how they didn't have the correct fire-safety preparations. The hearth was initially reported to have been brought on by a cooking-gas cylinder blast. However subsequent theories blame use of firecrackers indoors in a spot that was constructed utilizing extremely flamable materials.

Standing on salt pan land, Birch membership's two decrease flooring have been everlasting constructions, whereas the roof — the place the fireplace reportedly began— was constructed from thatched bamboo.

Their different institutions, resembling one on the Vagator seaside, have confronted complaints resulting from alleged violations of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) guidelines, and noise air pollution. This place has been demolished now following an order from CM Pramod Sawant now.

Native resident Jawish Moniz advised HT that their membership at Vagator was demolished on at the very least two events for CRZ violations, solely to be rebuilt earlier than the next vacationer season.

Authorities stated investigation will reveal everything , together with how a dancer from Kazakhstan was working there with out correct dicuments.

Manhunt on, businesses on path As for the worldwide manhunt for Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought ‘ blue notices’ to forestall them from fleeing Thailand for an additional nation.

Police in Goa are concurrently working to carry them again by way of deportation, securing an arrest warrant from a courtroom to bypass the formal extradition course of that takes longer.

A Look Out Round has additionally been issued towards two co-owners of the club , Ajay Gupta and Surinder Kumar Khosla, the latter recognized as a British citizen.

5 people, together with an affiliate of the Luthras named Bharat Kohli who was "overseeing” a lot of their restaurant operations, have already been arrested. Some Goa authorities officers have additionally been requested to hitch the investigation.