UKHRUL: The devastating fire at the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub claimed the lives of 25 people, including tourists and staff on Saturday (December 6).
An FIR was lodged by the police against its owners, manager and event oragnisers.
Of the 25 victims, 3 were from Assam—Rahul Tanti, Manojit Mal and Diganta Patir. All three were breadwinners of their families forced to migrate to the western state due to lack of livelihood opportunities in their area.
The incident ignited when fireworks were set off inside the venue during a show. According to officials, most deaths were a result of suffocation as the victims were trapped in the ground floor.
The FIR claims that those in charge had not undertaken proper measures to conduct a fire show despite having prior knowledge of the risks involved.
The FIR also added that the restaurant did not have an emergency exit door on the ground and deck floor to evacuate in case of emergency.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ordered magisterial inquiry into the fire. The sarpach of Arpora-Nagao, Roshan Redkar was detained for questioning.
The owners of the Nightclub, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra however fled to Phuket, Thailand within hours after the fire broke out.
Reportedly, there was a dispute between the orginal owner of the land Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and the owners of the nightclub. A complaint was filed to the panchayat in 2023.
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Upon inspection, it was revealed that the owners of the nightclub did not have permission to construct the club and were issued a demolition notice.
According to Redkar, the attempts to demolish the structure in the past failed as the Directorate of Panchayat issued a stay order.
The Chief Minister however stated that the sarpanch had signed NOC’s for electricity connection, water connection, house repairs and granted a trade license thus blaming the local panchayat .
The nightclub continued to operate even after its trade license expired in March 2024.
Three senior officials of the Goa government, including the then Director of Panchayat were suspended for allowing the facility to start operations in 2023, a senior officer said.
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Disclaimer: All information in this article is drawn from publicly available sources and/or insights provided by the experts consulted.