Saurabh & Gaurav Luthra Back in India Under Police Custody

Goa nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, wanted in connection with the December 6 fire that killed 25 people, were sent back to India from Bangkok on Tuesday morning under an emergency travel certificate.

The brothers boarded an IndiGo flight and were expected to land at Delhi’s IGI Airport around 1:45 pm, reportedly wearing masks and escorted by immigration officials.

Upon arrival, they will be taken to Patiala House Court by a team comprising the Delhi Crime Branch and Goa Police for transit remand, before being flown to Goa later Tuesday night. Goa DGP Alok Kumar confirmed their arrival.

A special team of CBI and intelligence officials had reached Phuket, Thailand, on Saturday to complete the deportation.

#WATCH | Bangkok, Thailand | Luthra brothers-Gaurav and Saurabh, the owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, Goa, where 25 people were killed in a fire, are being deported from Thailand today.

The two brothers are being brought to Delhi, where they will be… pic.twitter.com/acedxyRkxJ

— ANI (@ANI) December 16, 2025

The brothers were detained at Hotel Indigo in Patong, then shifted to a Bangkok immigration detention centre. Since their passports had been suspended by the Indian government, the Indian Embassy in Thailand issued an emergency certificate as a one-way travel document.

The Luthras had fled to Thailand hours after the fire, which occurred while police and fire services were still rescuing trapped victims.

Following a lookout notice and a subsequent decision by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to impound their passports, the brothers remained in Thailand without valid travel documents. India and Thailand have had a formal extradition treaty since 2015.

Investigations revealed that the Birch nightclub had been operating illegally for 18 months, with an expired licence and no proper permissions since 2024. Despite these lapses, no authority took action until the fatal fire on December 6.

So far, Goa police have arrested several associates of the brothers, including Gurgaon resident Ajay Gupta (55), New Delhi natives Rajiv Modak (49) and Priyanshu Thakur (32), as well as Rajveer Singhania (32), Vivek Singh (27), and Bharat Kohli.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire, which broke out around 11:45 pm during an event attended by over 150 tourists, was caused when electric firecrackers ignited the wooden ceiling.

Also Read: When Will the Luthra Brothers Return? Officials Share Update on Deportation