A nightclub teeming with revellers in North Goa turned into a death trap around midnight as a massive fire tore through it, claiming 25 lives, including five tourists, and bringing to the fore illegalities along with the laxity of government officials in enforcing rules.
Fireworks emerged as the likely cause of the blaze at 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, officials said, adding that the facility allegedly did not possess even a fire department NOC.
At least six people were injured in the incident. Five of them are undergoing treatment at hospitals.
The deceased included 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi.
As per initial information, the nightclub had not adhered to fire safety norms, CM Pramod Sawant said.
Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims got trapped on the ground floor and in the kitchen, said a fire brigade official.
Narrow lanes blocked access of fire brigade vehicles, and the water tankers had to be parked about 400 metres away from the spot. This made controlling the blaze a challenging task, a senior officer from the Fire and Emergency Services told PTI.
Small doors coupled with the narrow bridge leading to it made it difficult for the people to escape, fire brigade officials said.
The club's chief general manager, Rajiv Modak, general manager Vivek Singh, bar manager Rajiv Singhania, and gate manager Riyanshu Thakur were arrested by the police, Sawant said.
An FIR was registered against the owners, Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, and the event organisers.
Three senior officials of the Goa government, including the then Director of Panchayat, were suspended for their role in allowing the nightclub to start operations in 2023, a senior officer said.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that "electric firecrackers" were set off inside, which started the blaze at 11.45 pm on Saturday, Sawant said, adding that he had directed Chief Secretary V Candavelou and DGP Alok Kumar to identify and act against the government officials who allowed the club to operate even though it violated safety rules.
The government also formed a probe panel comprising the South Goa Collector, Deputy Director of Fire and Emergency Services, and the Director of Forensic Laboratory. It has been asked to submit its report within a week.
An ex-gratia of Rs five lakh for the nearest kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured would be paid from the State Disaster Management Authority Funds, the chief minister said.
The 20 staff members who died in the blaze were originally from Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Assam, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Four among them were Nepalese nationals, as per a list released by the state government.
Arrangements would be made to take the mortal remains of the deceased to their native places, Sawant added.
The suspended officials are identified as Siddhi Tushar Harlankar, who was then Director of Panchayat, Dr Shamila Monteiro, who was then Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, and Raghuvir Bagkar, then Secretary of Village Panchayat Arpora-Nagoa.
They are held responsible for giving permission to 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora to start its operations in 2023, a senior officer said.
President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, among others, expressed grief over the tragedy.
While the state police initially said the blaze occurred due to a cylinder blast, some eyewitnesses claimed the fire started on the club's first floor where tourists were dancing.
Riya, a tourist from Delhi who survived the fire, claimed that firecrackers burst all around when dancers were performing, which could have triggered the fire. “There was a stampede-like situation," she said.
At least 100 people were on the dance floor, and in an attempt to escape, some of them ran downstairs to the kitchen, where they got trapped with the staff, Fatima Shaikh, a tourist from Hyderabad, told PTI.
"There was a sudden commotion as the flames started erupting. We rushed out of the club only to see that the entire structure was up in flames," she said, adding that the nightclub was jam-packed as it was the weekend.
In no time, the entire club was engulfed in flames. “There was a temporary construction made up of palm leaves which easily caught fire,” said Shaikh.
Arpora-Nagoa panchayat sarpanch Roshan Redkar was questioned by the police.
He said there was a dispute between the two owners of the club, and they had filed a complaint against each other with the panchayat.
"We had inspected the premises and found that they did not have the permission to construct the club. The panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stayed by officials of the Directorate of Panchayats," Redkar claimed.
Distraught relatives and friends of the victims gathered outside the morgue of the Goa Medical College and Hospital, anxiously awaiting information about their loved ones.
Goa BJP MLA Michael Lobo claimed the licence to the nightclub was issued without any documentation by the local panchayat.
The Opposition targeted the BJP government in the state over the tragedy.
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said he was deeply pained by the incident. "This is not just an accident; it is a criminal failure of safety and governance," he said on X.
The AAP stated the Sawant government has lost the "moral right" to stay in power.
The Congress also demanded Sawant's resignation, with its Goa desk in-charge Manikrao Thakare claiming that the club had not obtained the NOC from the fire department, nor did it have permission from the Excise Department to sell liquor.
Sawant said the government has undertaken measures to prevent such incidents, and an audit of clubs operating without permission and places with the potential of high footfall will be carried out.
