PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that a joint team of Goa Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will travel to Thailand “within a short span of time” to get back the Luthra brothers “ Saurabh and Gaurav “ who are currently detained by the National Crime Bureau, Thailand.
Addressing a press conference after chairing a high-level meeting with DGP Alok Kumar and others, Sawant maintained that the Luthra brothers are owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a massive fire killed 25 people last Saturday.
Sawant thanked the Union Ministry for Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs for providing all required support in fast-tracking the detention of the two accused. “With the help of the Union Ministry and the CBI, we have managed to detain the two in Thailand. In the coming few days, a Goa Police and CBI team will leave for Thailand to get them back. In a short span of time, they will be brought back to Goa for further investigation,” he said.
The Chief Minister informed that with the help of the Regional Passport Office, the authorities managed to revoke the passports of the duo. “The investigation will now continue in Goa, and we will ensure that the duo face maximum punishment under the law and justice is given to the victims,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sawant said that one of the suspended officers (VP Secretary Raghuvir Bagkar) is not cooperating in the investigation, and soon he will be arrested. “Action will be taken against all those officers involved in granting various permissions,” he said, adding that action will be taken based on the Magisterial Inquiry report.
He reiterated that the authorities are currently conducting inspections and audits of various tourism establishments, and wherever major violations are found, those clubs would be shut down. “We will also demolish those structures which have come up in CRZ violation or have encroached upon government land,” he said.
