A dinner detour in Phuket: How one meal exposed Luthra brothers’ Thailand hideout

According to sources, the brothers left their hotel in Phuket on December 9, a move that alerted Thai authorities, who had placed the premises under surveillance following inputs from Indian investigative agencies.

The brief outing allowed immigration and police officials to verify their identities and travel records, confirming that the duo, wanted by Indian police, was indeed in Thailand.

Officials said that with their passports already under scrutiny and cancellation initiated by Indian authorities, the brothers were questioned about their travel status.

After verification, they were detained from their hotel room and taken to immigration custody, where the legal process for deportation was initiated once formal documentation arrived from India.

The arrests come in connection with the devastating fire that tore through a nightclub in Arpora village of North Goa around midnight on December 6, claiming 25 lives, most of them staff members, along with a few tourists.

Investigators have said the blaze was triggered during a fire show conducted without adequate safety measures.

Gaurav Luthra, 44, and his younger brother Saurav, 40, were formally detained in Thailand on Thursday, even as a Delhi court rejected their transit anticipatory bail pleas, citing the seriousness of the alleged offences and their conduct following the incident.

On Friday, Thai authorities transferred the brothers to Bangkok, where they are currently lodged at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detection Centre.

They will remain there until the completion of deportation formalities.

A law enforcement team from India is expected to take custody of the accused once they are sent back.

Sources said the Indian Embassy in Thailand will issue emergency travel certificates to facilitate their return, as the brothers’ passports have been cancelled, making their stay in Thailand an overstay under immigration rules.

Investigators have alleged that the Luthra brothers were attending a wedding in Delhi when the fire broke out, but fled to Thailand within hours of the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Ajay Gupta, described as a silent partner and investor in the nightclub, was in Goa at the time and was later traced to a Delhi hospital.

A Goa court has since remanded Gupta to police custody.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Goa administration has intensified enforcement against illegal operations at nightclubs and tourism establishments.

Authorities sealed ‘Goya The Night Club’ in Vagator after finding it was constructed on agricultural land.

The state has also imposed a ban on fireworks, sparklers, pyrotechnic effects, flame thrower-type devices, smoke machines and similar equipment inside tourist venues.

Officials have said fireworks triggered the inferno at the nightclub, identified as Birch by Romeo Lane.

Upon their return to India, the Luthra brothers are expected to face multiple charges, including injury-causing death, culpable homicide and murder, for allegedly organising a fire show without adequate precautions or safety equipment.