MAPUSA
The catastrophic fire at Birch by Romeo Lane is now being described by police as a “man-made disaster”, after it emerged that the high-end nightclub was operating without licences, lacked mandatory safety infrastructure and allegedly staged a hazardous fire show that triggered the blaze which killed 25 people late Saturday night.
Anjuna Police have arrested four senior managers of the establishment for culpable offences leading to death, rash and negligent acts endangering life and operating a commercial premises without safety compliance.
A case has been registered under Sections 105, 125, 125(a), 125(b), 287 r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
According to the police complaint, accused Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra, other partners, the manager, event organiser and senior staff allegedly allowed a fire show inside the premises without any fire-safety equipment, precautions or emergency planning.
Sparks from the performance reportedly ignited the upper floor and the fire quickly spread through the structure.
Investigators say the club had no emergency exit on either the ground floor or the deck floor, trapping patrons who were unable to escape the thick smoke and advancing flames.
The restaurant-club was also found to be operating without mandatory permissions and licences from competent authorities.
Those arrested have been identified as: Rajiv Modak (49) – Chief General Manager, Priyanshu Thakur (32) – Gate Manager, Rajveer Singhania (32) – Bar Manager and Vivek Singh (27) – General Manager.
Police said Modak and Thakur are originally from New Delhi, while Singhania and Singh hail from Uttar Pradesh.
All four have been booked for serious offences including negligence causing death and breach of statutory safety norms. Police say the investigation will focus on the full chain of responsibility – from operational heads to the owners – to determine how a commercial establishment with glaring safety violations was allowed to function until the night it turned into a death trap.
