The Thailand Police have detained Saurabh Luthra and his brother Gaurav Luthra, who fled India after a fire at their Goa nightclub claimed 25 lives, officials said on Thursday. Senior officials confirmed that the duo was apprehended in Phuket following a request from the Indian government.
In a statement, the Luthra brothers claimed that they were planning to return to India and called themselves "law-abiding citizens" who "never intended to evade the process of law," reported Indian Express.
"We, Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, shall arrive in India on 11.12.2025 and submit ourselves to the jurisdiction of the police authorities and the judicial system of our country. We undertake to co-operate with the police authorities (sic)," the statement read.
"We are law abiding citizens of our great country and we repose utmost faith and trust in the judicial system. We never intended to evade the process of law, as has been erroneously portrayed," it added.
The brothers claimed that their decision to return to the country was not influenced by the legal remedies they have availed.
"Our decision to return to our country is unrelated and uninfluenced by the legal remedies we have already availed or shall avail in future," the statement said.
The brothers, against whom an Interpol Blue Corner Notice had been issued, had fled India within hours of the tragedy. According to officials, the Luthras booked their tickets for Phuket through an online travel portal at 1:17 am on December 7, less than an hour after learning about the massive fire at their nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, located in Arpora, North Goa.
Despite ongoing rescue efforts at the time, the two boarded an IndiGo flight in the early hours of Sunday, leaving the country even as police, firefighters, and local authorities were struggling to control the blaze and evacuate staff.
Following their disappearance, the Goa Police sought assistance from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which facilitated the issuance of the Blue Corner Notice to track their movement across international borders.
Officials have confirmed that both men are currently in detention in Phuket and that formal procedures are underway to secure their return to India, where they are expected to face questioning and legal action related to the fatal fire.
Meanwhile, a Goa court on Thursday sent the club's co-owner Ajay Gupta to police custody for seven days.
Gupta, who was arrested in Delhi on Wednesday, was brought to Goa late in the evening on a transit remand for questioning.
He was taken to Anjuna police station for further investigation and produced in a court in Mapusa town on Thursday.
As he was being escorted into a police vehicle, Gupta repeated that that he had no role to play in the deadly accident.
"I don't know anything. I have no involvement. I was a sleeping partner and had no say in the operations of the club," he said.
Twenty-five persons, including 20 staff members and five tourists, were killed in the major blaze at the facility in North Goa around midnight on December 6.
(With inputs from PTI)
