Fire tragedy: Goa govt steps up action against club chain; 2 properties sealed

The Goa government has swept into action with renewed force, tightening its grip on the embattled Romeo Lane nightclub chain after a devastating inferno at one of its outlets claimed 25 lives and sent shockwaves through the state’s nightlife circuit.

What began as a festive Saturday evening at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora ended in a night of horror, and now the state machinery is moving swiftly, almost surgically, to assign accountability.

Two more properties linked to the hospitality group — a beach shack in Vagator and another club in Assagao — now stand sealed, their once-lively entrances shuttered under official orders. The closures, an official said, come amid ongoing disputes and a broader probe into the chain’s operations.

Meanwhile, a Goa Police team has already departed for Delhi, hunting for the nightclub’s elusive promoters, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, both named in a newly registered FIR. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, speaking with a tone of resolve on Sunday, vowed their arrest, insisting that no one connected to the tragedy would be spared scrutiny.

Back in Goa, the police have rounded up key managerial figures — chief general manager Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur — as investigators piece together the deadly chain of events.

According to early findings, the fire erupted around 11:45 pm, allegedly sparked by “electric firecrackers” ignited inside the club — a reckless flourish made even more damning by the revelation that the establishment reportedly lacked a fire department NOC. The blaze swept through the property, trapping victims on the ground floor and in the kitchen; most deaths were caused by suffocation, officials said. Among the dead were 20 staff members and five tourists, including four from Delhi.

The tragedy has since exposed glaring lapses in safety compliance. As CM Sawant noted, initial information points to serious violations of fire-safety norms — violations that now sit squarely at the center of the investigation. He has directed chief secretary V. Candavelou and DGP Alok Kumar to identify the government officials who allowed the club to operate despite its infractions.

What remains now, in the aftermath of the blaze, is a haunting mix of grief, anger, and reckoning — as Goa confronts not just a tragedy, but the systemic failures that allowed such a calamity to unfold in the first place.

With PTI inputs