Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 8: The Goa Government on Monday constituted a four-member magisterial inquiry committee to ascertain the circumstances and facts leading to the massive fire at a night club killing 25 people on Saturday night.
Officials have claimed that electric firecrackers may have caused the blaze at the “Birch by Romeo Lane night club, a popular party venue in Arpora village, about 25 kilometres from Panaji. Among the deceased were five tourists, including four from one family from Delhi, and 20 night club staff members.
Under Secretary (Home) Manthan Manoj Naik issued the order constituting the inquiry committee with North Goa District Collector Ankit Yadav as chairperson. The committee members include South Goa Superintendent of Police Tikam Singh Verma, Director of Forensic Sciences Ashutosh Apte, and Deputy Director, Fire and Emergency Services Rajendra Halarnkar.
The committee will examine the sequence of events leading to the outbreak of fire, verify the compliance of all statutory licences, and determine the lapses. It will also fix accountability on agencies or departments responsible and recommend preventive and corrective measures, the order stated. “The committee shall have authority to call for records, documents, etc, from concerned departments. Also, they shall have powers to summon the individual concerned,” it stated.
The police have so far arrested the nightclub’s chief general manager, Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur, while owners Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra are also likely to be arrested.
While a probe is underway to ascertain what caused the fire, eyewitnesses claimed it was the use of cold pyro guns during dance performance that started the blaze. “It started when a belly dance performance was underway. The performers used some cold pyro sticks which upon ignition leapt skywards and came in contact with the ceiling made of bamboo, fibre and straw-type material. This caused some sparks and fumes on the roof and within a few minutes, the whole place was burning,” an eyewitness said.
For the four members of the family who were on a long-awaited vacation in Goa, a night of music and dance turned fatal. Only one of them managed to survive the inferno. Bhavna Joshi is in shock after witnessing the fire rip through the building, killing her husband and three sisters who were trapped inside. Joshi had a narrow escape herself as she was pushed out of the building by the panicked crowd after the fire broke out. The victims have been identified as Vinod Joshi (43), Kamla Joshi (42), Anita Joshi (41) and Saroj Joshi (39). Kamla, Anita and Saroj were Bhavna’s sisters. Kamla was married to Vinod’s elder brother, Naveen Joshi.
The group had left for Goa on December 5 and was scheduled to return to Delhi on Tuesday. Everything was fine until Saturday evening, and they had even spoken to their family back in Delhi. On Sunday morning, Vinod Joshi’s family in the national capital received the shocking news. The family left for Goa soon after. By Sunday night, they had identified the bodies of their loved ones at a Goa hospital. After the autopsy, all the bodies were flown to Delhi.
Naveen Joshi, who lost his wife Kamla in the fire, lives in North East Delhi’s Karawal Nagar. His younger brother, Vinod – who died in the blaze – lived in Ghaziabad’s Vaishali with his wife, Bhavna. Her other two sisters, Anita and Saroj – who were also killed – lived in North West Delhi’s Rohini.
Bhavna said more than a hundred people were dancing in the nightclub when there was a sudden loud explosion and flames erupted. She was pushed out of the club by the crowd, she said. While police said a cylinder blast seemed to have started the blaze, a tourist who survived the tragedy claimed that fireworks were set off when dancers were performing, and it was the likely cause.
Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims, many of them employees, got trapped on the basement of the nightclub building, a fire official said.
Saurabh Luthra, the co-owner of the night club, said he was “deeply shaken” by the incident. Taking to Instagram, the owner posted a story and wrote: “The management expresses profound grief and is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of lives resulting from the unfortunate incident at Birch.” Amid the ongoing probe into the deadly fire, Luthra also assured “every possible form of assistance, support and cooperation” to the bereaved.
“In this hour of irreparable sorrow and overwhelming distress, the management stands in unwavering solidarity with the families of the deceased as well as those injured, and conveys its heartfelt condolences with utmost sincerity,” Luthra wrote.
Romeo Lane is a chain of popular upscale restaurants and bars located in multiple cities across India, including Delhi, Noida and Bhubaneswar, and internationally as well. The official website of the restaurant chain describes Saurabh Luthra as a ‘gold medalist engineer-turned into a promising and fastest-growing restaurateur’, who is known for his “splendid work in F&B industry.”
His Instagram account has several pictures from his international trips and also shows him posing alongside big names like cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal, actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Milind Soman, and social media influencer Orry, among others.