Overview
- Twenty-five fatalities are confirmed in the Birch by Romeo Lane blaze in Arpora, with many deaths attributed to asphyxiation late on December 6.
- Police arrested four club managers — Rajiv Modak, Vivek Singh, Rajiv Singhania and Riyanshu Thakur — on negligence and rule-violation charges, with FIRs filed against owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra.
- Media reports say the owners left India the next morning, flying from Delhi to Thailand, as look-out notices and warrant actions were reported and police pursued the case through national channels.
- The state suspended officials linked to the club’s permissions and set up a special committee comprising the South Goa Collector, the deputy director of Fire and Emergency Services and the forensic lab director to report within a week.
- Goa ordered sector-wide fire-safety audits and document updates within seven days and announced Rs 5 lakh for next of kin and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the state, with an additional Rs 2 lakh per family from the PMO, while investigators examine conflicting accounts citing electronic crackers versus a kitchen origin.