Ishaq Hussein Khaku, a 25-year-old from Bengaluru, was excited to spend the occasion season in Goa along with his associates. Based on his father, Mohammed Hussain, the group determined to go on December 6 for ‘Bollywood night time’ at Birch by Romeo Lane, a restaurant, cocktail bar, and membership that had opened final 12 months within the village of Arpora. Situated close to Baga, some of the in style seashores of North Goa, it promised “coastal luxurious”, “a wild crowd”, “the most well liked beats on the town”, and “island-style cocktails”, on their Instagram account.
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Birch put out ads that Kristina Sheikh, a dancer from Kazakhstan, would carry out that night time. When Sheikh started grooving to ‘Mehbooba, Mehbooba’ from the Hindi blockbuster movie, Sholay, sparks started to fly behind her. Movies that went viral later confirmed her stopping and glancing above on the false ceiling product of bamboo and wooden.
“I ran residence, into the arms of my daughter,” Sheikh informed a tv channel later. “One in every of my teammates alerted me in regards to the fireplace and I contemplate him my Indian god.” She was one of many estimated 90 of the 100-odd individuals who had been a part of the group on the primary ground dance space, who escaped to security.
Hussain mentioned he heard from the police that Khaku and his associates ran out to security. However Khaku realised that he had dropped his cell phone on the dance ground and rushed again in to retrieve it. He by no means made it out.
The subsequent day, Hussain arrived in Goa with relations and recognized his son’s physique. “Ishaq labored as an IT engineer in an information science firm,” the distraught father mentioned.
The hearth unfold rapidly earlier than midnight, aided by the palm leaf decor and inflammable supplies used for the ceiling, investigating officers informed reporters in Arpora. Th fireplace claimed 25 lives — 20 of them had been workers members and 5 had been vacationers. 5 others, together with two vacationers, suffered accidents and are out of hazard, Vasanth Dhabolkar, Sub Divisional Justice of the Peace, Bardez, mentioned.
From music to chaos
For Bhavana Joshi, from Delhi, the occasion rapidly was the worst nightmare of her life. She misplaced her sisters — Saroj, Anita, and Kamla — and her husband, Vinod Kumar. She managed to run to security, whereas the remainder of them suffocated to demise, she informed reporters in New Delhi.
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Based on Joshi, Kumar seen the fireplace as quickly because it broke out and alerted the workers. She mentioned the DJ tried to extinguish the fireplace by throwing water from a bottle. “Nobody from the membership administration helped us out,” she mentioned. “The bouncers solely helped the dance troupe get out of the corridor.”
Inside minutes, the fireplace unfold throughout the ceiling and consumed the decorations, she recalled. “There was a lot smoke that nothing was seen. Individuals panicked and ran out. They started falling on one another and pushing one another.”
Joshi obtained separated from her household within the confusion. “The membership had just one entry and exit. The identical passageway additionally led to a basement kitchen, and several other folks unintentionally ran in the direction of it,” she mentioned. Joshi ran out and stood outdoors the membership, crying for assist.
“A lot of the workers within the basement kitchen died,” a police officer mentioned.
Ami Manocha, a businessman from New Delhi who has made Goa his residence, mentioned among the victims had been his acquaintances. Manocha, who was to attend the occasion, modified his thoughts. He mentioned he has not slept a lot since.
Manocha has met among the survivors. “They informed me that there have been no fireplace extinguishers and that the membership workers had been ill-equipped to deal with the incident. They didn’t make a security announcement. The bottom ground and the primary ground had been linked solely by a small staircase. There have been no impartial exits from both of the flooring to the entrance gate,” he mentioned.
Based on the Goa Police’s listing of victims, the remainder of the 20 victims had been workers members from numerous States — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, and West Bengal. 4 of them had been from Nepal.
Rahul Tanti, 32, of Ranagirkhari in Assam, had joined the membership as a gardener only a day earlier than the fireplace, mentioned his brother Deva Tanti. The daddy of three, he dreamed of a safer future. He left his job at a tea property that paid him simply ₹200 per day. “Aside from the tea gardens, there may be nothing that employs us. There are not any industries, factories, or companies. Farming is non-remunerative and unpredictable as Assam suffers devastating floods often,” Deva mentioned.
One other sufferer from Assam was Diganta Patir, of Dhemaji district. “He was planning to return residence by January to his mom,” mentioned Vishwas Kumar, Patir’s uncle. “His youthful brother lives in Delhi. Patir had labored for over a decade in Goa and Tamil Nadu and had saved sufficient cash to open a small store in Assam.”
Prakash Thapa, president of the Goa Nepali Society, who helped the police determine the our bodies and hint their households, has been dwelling in Goa because the Nineties. He mentioned migration from Nepal to India just isn’t a brand new phenomenon. “Within the Nineteen Sixties and 70s, the primary technology of immigrants had been safety guards. Later got here the housekeeping and cleansing workers. Now, it’s largely cooks and caretakers in homes and inns,” he defined.
The Singhs from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand are a household of cooks. Satish Singh, one of many victims, had not too long ago began working on the Birch kitchen. He had labored as a chef in a Bengaluru resort earlier. “However his labour contractor shifted him to Goa a 12 months in the past, promising higher wages,” mentioned Ramesh Singh, his brother, additionally a chef.
Nonetheless, not everybody mentioned they had been attracted by larger wages to Goa. Some moved just because it has the popularity of being “a enjoyable place to work,” mentioned Dhan Singh, the brother of Jitendra Singh from Tehri Gharwal district in Uttarakhand, who died within the fireplace.
Jitendra used to work in Gurugram as a helper in a kitchen. “He and his associates then determined to shift. He didn’t get a lot of a elevate, however he favored the temper in Goa,” Dhan mentioned.
Assessments within the aftermath
Quickly after the incident, the police shifted the our bodies to the Goa Medical School and Hospital (GMCH) mortuary in Panjim. Docs mentioned solely 4 folks had suffered extreme burn accidents. The reason for demise within the different circumstances was suffocation and inhalation of toxic gases, they mentioned.
“In the present day is a really painful day for all of us in Goa,” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant mentioned after the tragedy. “These discovered accountable will face most stringent motion underneath the legislation — any negligence can be handled firmly.” He ordered a magisterial probe and a police investigation.
The Union authorities introduced compensation of ₹2 lakh to the households of every of the deceased and ₹50,000 for every injured particular person. The State authorities introduced compensation of ₹5 lakh and ₹50,000, respectively.
A Thai policeman with Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra (proper) who fled to Thailand after the fireplace at their Goa nightclub.
| Photograph Credit score:
PTI
As per the First Data Report filed on December 7, the Goa Police have booked the homeowners — Saurabh Luthra and his brother Gaurav Luthra — and their accomplice, Ajay Gupta, amongst others, underneath Sections 105 (culpable murder not amounting to homicide), 125(a)(b) (endangering lives and private security) and 287 (negligent dealing with of fireplace or flamable materials) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The police have thus far arrested chief basic supervisor Rajiv Modak, basic supervisor Vivek Singh, bar supervisor Rajveer Singhania, gate supervisor Priyanshu (Riyanshu) Thakur, and worker Bharat Kohli. A courtroom in Goa despatched Gupta to police custody for seven days. Sources mentioned the Luthra brothers, who escaped to Phuket from Delhi, had been detained in Thailand on December 11, based mostly on a request from Indian legislation enforcement businesses. They mentioned the method to deport the brothers to India has been initiated.
“Officers are additionally learning the monetary transactions of the three companions and the land proprietor, Surinder Kumar Khosla. Authorized motion can be initiated if violations are discovered,” Superintendent of Police Harish Madkaikar informed reporters.
Sawant informed the media {that a} committee led by the Income Secretary would assessment the protection protocols being applied in nightclubs and comparable institutions in Goa. It is not going to solely report violations, but in addition recommend a street map for avoiding such incidents sooner or later, he mentioned.
The Bardez district administration has sealed the premises of Birch. Officers additionally demolished a short lived construction put up by Romeo Lane in Ozrant in Vagator village, which confronted allegations by the district administration of encroaching on authorities land. The picket extension to the primary constructing was demolished final 12 months too, however it was rebuilt later, native newspapers in Goa reported. A tourism division official in Panjim mentioned that of the 16 properties of Romeo Lane within the nation, six are in Goa.
Many allegations of violations
Activists allege that violations of constructing, security, and atmosphere norms is neither new, nor shocking in Goa. “Actually, we Goans have come to imagine that violations are the norm,” mentioned Sarika Vashist, a resident of Mapusa.
Vashist mentioned most buildings, together with the one through which she lives, have been constructed on the again of violations. “We now have been complaining to each authority — from the panchayat to the Chief Minister’s Workplace — however in useless. Some officers informed me that in the event that they acted robust towards enterprise homeowners, funding in Goa would come down. It’s absurd. What if deliberate non compliance results in such tragedies,” she requested.
Vashist additionally mentioned enterprise homeowners goal and silence activists utilizing authorized and different means. “I’ve confronted a number of lawsuits and private threats. However I can’t again off,” she mentioned firmly.
Glen Fernandes, a member of Calangute Collective, a volunteer group combating for atmosphere conservation, mentioned that Birch had violated a number of guidelines. “The land on which it operated was a salt pan and fish farm and can’t be used for non-agriculture functions, as per Part 3 of the Goa Agriculture Tenancy Act, 1964. Additionally, underneath Goan legislation (The Goa Restrictions on Switch of Agricultural Land Act, 2023), it might probably neither be offered nor purchased. The homeowners violated the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms as properly,” he alleged.
Fernandes mentioned he was aiding the unique land homeowners — Pradeep Amonkar and Sunil Divker — who had complained towards the nightclub. “In an earlier case, we approached the Excessive Court docket to seal round 20 unlawful golf equipment and different companies,” he mentioned.
A writ petition filed by the unique homeowners of the land within the Excessive Court docket has prayed for a court-monitored inquiry. They’ve requested for an in depth inspection of the premises, the sealing of operations, demolition of the constructing, and motion towards officers answerable for the grant of permits and licences. The case is scheduled to come back up for listening to on December 16.
Rohit Bras De Sa, advocate for the petitioners, mentioned the petitioners had issued a authorized discover to the membership and a few officers on November 4, 2025. “We mentioned that it was clearly an unauthorised industrial institution. We mentioned that it was allowed to operate by officers who had been responsible of contributory negligence and dereliction of obligation. We despatched it to the homeowners and all of the involved departments. However we didn’t get any response. The writ petition makes comparable claims with comparable prayers,” he mentioned. He urged the federal government to repair private legal responsibility on officers who allowed the alleged unlawful building and operations.
Like Fernandes, De Sa alleged that the membership violated many guidelines. “The nightclub is near the Baga river and the ocean. This can be a notified CRZ 1 (B) area. The homeowners have violated CRZ norms,” he mentioned. “In addition they violated guidelines relating to salt pans. They constructed an basement constructed within the water physique. They’ve violated city and nation planning codes as properly. They don’t have occupancy certificates. We suspect that officers in any respect ranges are concerned in permitting the illegalities.”
Rajendra Kerkar, 60, an atmosphere conservationist, lives within the village of Keri-Sattari, on the fringe of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary. He mentioned, “Salt pans must be conserved. For hundreds of years, salt made in Goan pans was exported to Europe. Even at present, your complete populations in villages equivalent to Nirul are engaged in making salt.”
The blame sport
Roshan Redkar, the sarpanch of the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat, claimed that the panchayat had suspected irregularities within the membership, obtained it inspected, and ordered for a demolition. However the Directorate of Panchayats within the State authorities stayed the order, he mentioned.
MLA Michael Lobo responded that the state can’t be blamed. “The panchayat made two main errors,” he mentioned. “In its enthusiasm, it crossed the boundaries of its jurisdiction and issued a no objection certificates for a restaurant-cum-nightclub. Panchayats do not need the ability to try this; solely the State authorities’s Excise Division does. The panchayat ought to have sealed the membership, relatively than making an attempt to demolish it. That’s the reason the homeowners obtained a keep,” he mentioned.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) have each demanded that Sawant resign. Congress termed the State authorities “corrupt” and “anti-people”, whereas AAP mentioned nightclubs and bars had been “dens of extortion.”
Kerkar believes that there’s solely approach out of the issues that Goa faces at present. “That’s everlasting vigilance by the citizenry,” he mentioned.