Goa nightclub fire: Co-owner Ajay Gupta granted bail after 25 deaths

Ajay Gupta, co-owner of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in Goa where a fire killed 25 people in December, has been granted bail by a Mapusa court. Gupta and other owners face criminal proceedings for alleged negligence and safety violations.

The district court at Mapusa in North Goa on Tuesday granted bail to Ajay Gupta, co-owner of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, where a tragic fire in December last year claimed 25 lives. Gupta, who was arrested in New Delhi over three months ago, secured bail, his lawyer Rohan Desai told ANI.

The Nightclub Tragedy

Twenty-five people died, and several others were injured on December 6 in a fire at the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in Goa.

Criminal Proceedings Against Owners

Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, along with Ajay Gupta, are co-owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub. The government initiated criminal proceedings against the club owners over alleged negligence and violation of mandatory safety norms after a fire.

According to the Goa police, the firework event was organised at the club without proper fire safety equipment and other essential safety gadgets. The Luthra brothers, despite knowing that the restaurant lacks emergency exit doors on the ground or deck floors for evacuation in an emergency, organised the fire show, police said.

The Goa Police had filed a criminal case dated December 7 at the Police Station Arpora Anjuna, North Goa, under sections 105, 125, 125(a), 125(b), and 287, read with 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.

Inquiry Finds Official Negligence

Earlier in January, the Goa government had dismissed Arpora Village Panchayat Sarpanch, Roshan Redkar, and Panchayat Secretary of Arpora-Nagoa Village Panchayat, Raghuvir Bagkar, from service, finding "persistent negligence" in the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' fire case.

Directorate of Panchayats, based on the Magisterial Inquiry Committee Report on the nightclub mishap, noted that the Sarpanch, "presided over meetings where the irregularities of the subject premises were either ignored or tacitly approved."

The report said that the Birch establishment was initially operated in a temporary shed and was converted into a nightclub "without any conversion sanad or approved building plans." The Directorate termed it as "persistent negligence" and "a breach of the public trust" that resulted in the fire. Raising a question on the people in positions of authority, the directorate order said, "What will happen if the protectors themselves become poachers?" (ANI)

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