2 weeks ago
Goa club fire chargesheet reveals blocked exit, owners' Phuket flight
On December 6, 2025, a fire started at a nightclub called Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa, India.
It was a very sad day because 25 people died, including five tourists visiting from other places.
Police looked into what happened and wrote a very long report, called a chargesheet.
The report says the club did not have fire safety equipment.
It also says there was no emergency plan for people to escape, and one of the exit gates was locked.
The club was decorated with dry grass, bamboo and wood, which burn very quickly.
The police say the owners knew about these problems but still let fireworks happen inside the crowded club.
They also say the owners used fake documents to get licences to run the club.
Two of the owners booked tickets and flew to Phuket soon after the fire started, and one owner went to a hospital in Delhi.
Another owner, who lives in the UK, also left the country, and the police are still looking for him.
A December 6, 2025, fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, Goa, killed 25 people, including five tourists.
Goa police filed a 4,420-page chargesheet against 13 accused, including co-owners Ajay Gupta and brothers Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra.
The chargesheet alleges the Luthra brothers learned of the fire around 11:45 pm, booked a Phuket flight from Delhi at 1:13 am, and departed at 5:25 am.
It alleges the club had no fire safety equipment or emergency evacuation plan, and the western emergency exit was locked with a metal gate.
The accused allegedly forged documents, including a police clearance certificate, and ran the club without a valid licence for 2024-2025.
- Who
- Ajay Gupta (55) and brothers Gaurav Luthra (44) and Saurabh Luthra (40), partners of Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, which owned Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, along with UK national Surinder Kumar Khosla, the property owner.
- What
- A chargesheet alleging culpable homicide not amounting to murder, forgery, and safety lapses over the nightclub fire that killed 25 people.
- Where
- Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, located in the middle of a saltpan in Arpora, North Goa, India.
- When
- The fire broke out around 11:45 pm on December 6, 2025; Ajay Gupta was arrested on December 10.
- Why
- Alleged lapses including a locked emergency exit, no fire safety equipment or evacuation plan, combustible interiors, and fireworks in an enclosed, crowded venue contributed to the tragedy.
Key facts
- Date of fire
- December 6, 2025 (around 11:45 pm)
- Casualties
- 25 killed, including five tourists
- Venue
- Birch by Romeo Lane, Arpora, North Goa
- Chargesheet
- 4,420-page document filed by Goa police against 13 accused
- Charges
- Culpable homicide not amounting to murder, forgery, and other offences
- Accused owners
- Ajay Gupta (55), Gaurav Luthra (44), Saurabh Luthra (40)
- Property owner
- Surinder Kumar Khosla, a UK national, is absconding
- Key allegation
- Owners booked a flight to Phuket at 1:13 am and departed at 5:25 am after the fire







