INDIA
The demolition work started on Tuesday evening following an order from Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, reports said. Pictures and videos circulating on social media platforms appeared to confirm the government action.
Authorities in Goa on Tuesday began demolishing Romeo Lane, a shack on the popular Vagator beach, owned by Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra -- brothers behind the nightclub where more than two dozen people died in a fire last week. The demolition work started on Tuesday evening following an order from Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, reports said. Pictures and videos circulating on social media platforms appeared to confirm the government action.
The North Goa district administration has partly demolished the shack owned by the Luthra brothers, news agency ANI reported. The property was razed for allegedly encroaching on the beach, deputy director of Goa Tourism Dhiraj Wagale told the agency. "The total area to be demolished is 198 square metres," Wagale said. The razing action comes amid a intensive search for the two brothers, who reportedly fled to Phuket in Thailand just hours after the fire at their nightclub in Goa's Arpora village. Indian agencies are now in touch with their counterparts in Thailand and seeking the deportation of the Luthras based on an arrest warrant.
In the late hours of Saturday, a fire engulfed the crowded Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, claiming the lives of 25 people and injuring others. Most of those who died were staff members at the club and the remaining were tourists, including four from a Delhi family. Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) and arrested five people so far, including the club's general manager and bar manager.