Goa Police on standby as Thailand processes Luthra brothers’ return

Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who were detained in Thailand on Thursday.

PANAJI
Goa Police remained on standby on Friday with no confirmation yet on whether its officers will join the CBI-led team coordinating the return of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra from Thailand, even as the deportation process moved forward without clarity on the timeline.
Diplomatic sources said the Embassy of India in Bangkok is in continuous contact with Thai officials handling the case. The brothers were detained in Phuket following an intervention by the Embassy, and Thai authorities are now processing their deportation under local procedures.
“We have been getting swift cooperation from the Thai officials. However, a key hurdle is the weekend shutdown of government offices, which is expected to slow paperwork,” the source said.
From Goa, too, there has been no confirmation about the team leaving for Thailand, even as a team has been kept on standby.
Emergency Travel Certificates for the brothers will be issued only in Bangkok, where they were moved from Phuket as part of the formalities. Their deportation is likely on Monday or Tuesday.
Thai officials have confirmed that the Luthras flew to Thailand early Sunday morning -- hours after the Arpora nightclub fire -- and had been in Phuket for four days before their detention.
“They were staying in a hotel and eating at nearby restaurants. It will take 3-4 days to bring them to India due to legal formalities. They are in the custody of the Thai police and will be shifted to Bangkok first,” the officer said.
The accused brothers had been changing locations and were picked from Hotel Indigo at Patong on Thursday morning. They were kept at the immigration centre from where they were moved to the Bangkok detention facility, where the process for their deportation was fast-tracked on Friday.