Goa club fire caused by internal fireworks, limited exits led to casualties: CM

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said the devastating fire in the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub broke out because of its internal fireworks and noted that the limited number of exits in the club caused the casualties. With this, the Chief Minister dismissed the claim of a cylinder blast, which was earlier thought responsible for the breakout of fire and the deaths caused.

Sawant, who faced the wrath of the opposition parties, claimed that a fact-finding panel has been formed, which would probe into the matter and also provide a detailed report within a week. He also announced that the families of the victims will receive Rs 5 lakh financial aid for the incident.

"The ex gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh will be provided to the next of kin of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 for the injured will be sanctioned through the SDRF fund. The government shall provide complete assistance for the transportation of the deceased to their homes. A dedicated team comprising the SDM, Police and Health Authorities have been constituted for the same. I also directed the Chief Secretary and the DGP to take



disciplinary actions..."

Sawant earlier ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident, directing officials to investigate the circumstances that allowed the venue to function and to identify any lapses in safety compliance. "Goa nightclub's chief general manager and three other staff members were arrested in connection with the case," he informed.

The Chief Minister further noted that till now, the Goa Police are presently looking for the owners, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra. The owners are presently based in Delhi, and a police team has left for Delhi to trace and arrest them.

Meanwhile, the police have already arrested the head of the Arpora–Nagoa Panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar, who had issued a trade licence for the premises in 2013.

On Saturday night, a massive fire broke out in North Goa's Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, which took the lives of 25 people. Out of those 25 people, the bodies of 14 people have been identified. Four were tourists from New Delhi, while the rest 10 were working staff, who were from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.