Goa nightclub inferno (Picture credit: PTI)
PANAJI: Tragedy struck Goa’s popular after-hours party scene just before midnight on Saturday, killing 25 people – five of them tourists – and injuring six inside a nightclub in Arpora that turned into a fireball within seconds of electric firecrackers hitting the wooden ceiling of the first floor as a belly-dancer performed. The victims in the blaze at Birch by Romeo Lane, 16km from Panaji, included four of a family from UP’s Ghaziabad. Of the injured, five are being treated at Goa Medical College and Hospital. Police said 150 guests were at the club for the weekend event.
Goa: 23 Killed In Arpora Nightclub Fire; Cylinder Blast Suspected, CM Sawant Vows Strict Action
DGP Alok Kumar said four club staffers – chief general manager Rajiv Modak, gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, bar manager Rajveer Singhania, and general manager Vivek Singh – were arrested.
Goa Police registered an FIR against the club’s Delhi-based owners, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, charging them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A police team is in Delhi with a warrant to arrest the duo.
CM Pramod Sawant said his government instituted a magisterial inquiry to find out the lapses that resulted in the tragedy and submit a report within a week. The BJP govt also suspended three officials – ex-director of panchayats Siddhi Halarnkar, ex-state pollution control board member secretary Shamila Monteiro, and former Arpora-Nagoa panchayat secretary Reghuvir Bagkar – for allegedly allowing the nightclub to function
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