NEW DELHI: Goa Police have detained Ajay Gupta, a co-owner of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, after a devastating fire at the Arpora establishment killed 25 people. Gupta, who was held in Delhi on Tuesday, insisted he had no role in the day-to-day running of the club. “I am just a partner. I don’t know anything,” he said soon after being picked up, following a Lookout Circular issued against him.The arrest comes as investigators widen their search for the club’s primary owners, brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who fled to Phuket hours after the blaze. Interpol has issued a Blue Corner Notice to help trace them, and officers say this was processed unusually quickly. Goa Police are coordinating with the CBI and Interpol, and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said a team will be sent to Thailand to bring the accused back.The Bureau of Immigration earlier informed police that the Luthras boarded IndiGo flight 6E 1073 from Delhi to Phuket on Sunday morning. A notice seeking an explanation for why their passports should not be impounded has been issued by the regional passport office. A Blue Corner Notice has also been issued against the property owner, British national Surinder Kumar Khosla.Gupta is expected to be flown to Goa on Wednesday and placed under arrest once formalities are complete. Five others connected with the nightclub — chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, gate manager Riyanshu Thakur and employee Bharat Kohli — have already been arrested.Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte called the fire “a very tragic episode”, saying accountability must be fixed and that an inquiry should deliver a factual report. On Tuesday, the district administration also demolished part of the Romeo Lane restaurant in Vagator, owned by the Luthras, citing illegal construction.
