3 min readPanajiUpdated: Apr 8, 2026 07:35 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Panaji zonal office has provisionally attached properties valued at over Rs 17.45 crore under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the investigation pertaining to illegal operation of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa.
A fire at the nightclub in North Goa’s Arpora on December 6 last year killed 25 people, including five tourists. The brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who ran the club, had taken a flight from Delhi to Phuket at 5.30 am on December 7, just hours after the incident, which took place just before midnight the previous day. The duo booked the tickets at 1.17 am on December 7 to flee the country, within 90 minutes of the blaze.
Goa Police had booked the Luthra brothers and the club’s partners, manager, event organiser and other managing staff and charged the accused with culpable homicide. They were later deported to India and arrested by the Goa police.
The ED had initiated investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by Goa police at Anjuna police station and Mapusa police station against Saurabh Luthra and others under various provisions of the BNS, 2023. In a statement, the ED said the FIRs relate “not only to the tragic fire incident…which resulted in the loss of 25 lives and injuries to several persons, but also to offences involving large-scale forgery and fabrication of statutory documents, including No Objection Certificates (NOCs), for the purpose of obtaining regulatory approvals.”
The ED said investigation under the PMLA has revealed that the establishment was being operated by M/s Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP without obtaining mandatory statutory approvals, including the requisite fire NOC.
“It has further emerged that the partners of the said entity had submitted forged and fabricated documents, such as a fake health NOC and forged police clearance certificate, to various authorities in order to secure licences and project the establishment as lawfully compliant. Further investigation has brought to light that the partners, in active connivance with each other, knowingly continued the commercial operations of the establishment despite the absence and expiry of mandatory licences,” the ED said.
The ED alleged the establishment’s trade licence expired on March 31, 2024 and was not renewed, but it continued to operate in blatant violation of statutory requirements. “The investigation has further revealed that the establishment generated total revenue amounting to approximately Rs 29.78 crore during the period from financial year 2023–24 to financial year 2025–26 (till December 6 2025) by way of illegal operation, which has been identified as ‘proceeds of crime’…Earlier, during the course of investigation, searches were conducted on January 23 at multiple premises linked to the subject entity, which resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices, along with freezing of bank accounts amounting to approximately Rs 59 lakh,” the statement added.
Story continues below this ad
This comes hours after a local court granted bail to Birch by Romeo Lane club Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra in connection with a case of forgery and cheating.
