25 killed in Goa nightclub fire; four arrested, three officials suspended as CM orders probe
25 people died and 6 were injured in a massive fire that broke out at a nightclub in North Goa just before midnight on Saturday. Initial police investigation revealed that the fire was caused by a fire show with “electric fireworks” held without any precautions or permits at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, 25 kilometers from Panaji.
According to the initial information (FIR), the lack of emergency exit doors in the nightclub, which operated without the necessary licenses and permits, caused the place to turn into a death trap. More than 100 people were in the first-floor dance area when the fire broke out, and some ran downstairs and were trapped along with the kitchen staff. Most deaths occurred due to drowning.
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Owners, managers and event managers were charged with culpable homicide and causing death by negligence, among other charges, but questions were also raised about the State and local government’s failure to enforce rules and allow the nightclub to operate illegally. Four people have been arrested so far, but the owners of the club have not been caught yet.
CM orders investigation
Chief minister Pramod Sawant instructed the state chief secretary and the DGP to identify and take action against government officials who allowed the club to operate despite violating safety rules. A committee comprising the South Goa Collector, Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services and Director of Forensic Science Laboratory will investigate the incident and submit its report within a week.
Late Sunday night, three government officials responsible for allowing the nightclub to start operations in 2023 were suspended: the then Director of Panchayats Siddhi Tushar Harlankar; Shamila Monteiro, then Secretary, Goa State Pollution Control Board; and the then Panchayat Arpora-Nagoa Village Secretary Raghuvir Bagkar.
Of those killed, 20 were nightclub staff and all were migrant workers, including four from Nepal. According to a list released by the state government on Sunday night, five of the dead workers were from Uttarakhand, three from Jharkhand and Assam, two from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh and one from West Bengal. Five tourists, including three from a family in Delhi, another tourist from Delhi and another tourist from Karnataka, also died in the inferno.
A tribute of ₹ 5 lakh will be paid to the relatives of each of the deceased and ₹ 50,000 to the injured from the State Disaster Management Authority Funds, the CM said, adding that arrangements will be made to take the bodies of the victims to their hometowns. President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among others, expressed grief over the tragedy. Mr Modi said an ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the dead and ₹ 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
Opposition political parties accused the government of corruption and negligence and asked how the nightclub was allowed to operate without the necessary permits. Congress and Aam Aadmi Party demanded the CM’s resignation.
Pyro weapons and crackers
Initial police investigation led to the reasonable conclusion that sparks from pyro guns and crackers ignited flammable materials such as palm fronds in the ceiling, plastic, fiber and foam packaging and decor towers in the first floor dance area. A police officer who spoke at the scene on condition of anonymity said that the organizers organized a fire show without taking precautions and obtaining the necessary permissions from the authorities. “The dancers appear to have used fire weapons to spice up the mood while performing Bollywood movie numbers. This led to the sparks that led to the tragedy,” he said.
On Sunday morning, Goa DGP Alok Kumar said investigators suspected a gas cylinder explosion, but it was later confirmed that the cylinder exploded in the ground floor kitchen only after the flame spread from the first floor.
The club is located on the backwaters of the Baga River and is connected to the main road by a narrow lane. The road is cut off by a small pond on one side and a river on the other, making it difficult for three fire trucks to reach the front gate early Sunday. Police had to move the survivors away from the main road and clear the road by moving other vehicles before the first fire truck even entered the main gate.
No fire safety measures
The FIR said: “The owners, partners, manager, event organizer and other management staff of Birch by Romeo Lane, Arpora, without taking proper care, without providing fire safety equipment and other safety devices, organized a fire show in their restaurant/club, which resulted in a serious fire resulting in the death of 25 innocent people and also injuries to tourists and staff, despite their full knowledge that staging such a show could lead to serious fire accidents…” There are also various violations of fire safety norms. listed.
The FIR charges the accused with offenses read under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 125 (a), 125 (b) and 287 (negligent act in relation to fire or combustible materials) of BNS, read with section 3 (5) (common intent).
4 people, including the general manager of the club, were arrested. However, Saurabh Luthra and his brother Gaurav Luthra, the owners of the nightclub mentioned in the FIR, have not been arrested yet. According to Mr. Luthra’s social media channels, he is the chairman of Romeo Lane, which has restaurants in 16 cities, including Delhi, Gurugram, Lucknow and Bhopal.
Judicial MLA Michael Lobo told reporters in Arpora on Sunday that the other accused will be arrested after the initial investigation is completed.
There’s no way out
A local police officer said most of the deaths were due to the lack of any escape route. “The fire started on the first floor and spread to the ground floor. There is not enough ventilation on the ground floor. There is only one servant’s exit, surrounded by water. It is possible that they were either trapped by too many people or they could not find a way to reach the door.”
“The ground floor and first floor deck of the said restaurant do not have emergency exit doors that can be evacuated in case of emergency. It was found that the said restaurant was operating without obtaining permission/license from the competent authorities,” the FIR said.
Doctors at the Goa Medical College and Hospital told reporters on Sunday that four of the bodies were burnt. Other victims died either from asphyxiation or inhalation of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar said there was a dispute between the two owners of the club and they had complained about each other to the panchayat. “We inspected the premises and found that they did not have permission to build the club,” he said, alleging that the Panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stopped by the Directorate of Panchayats officials.
However, Mr. Lobo claimed that it was the panchayat that issued restaurant and nightclub licenses on these premises in 2023 without the necessary documents.
(With inputs from PTI)
