Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Dec 16: A team from the Goa Police travelled to New Delhi on Monday evening to formally take custody of brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra from the Central Bureau of Investigation, officials said, as Indian and Thai authorities complete their deportation from Thailand.
CBI officers had reached Bangkok over the weekend to coordinate the final stages of the deportation process with Thai authorities. Although the procedure was expedited soon after the brothers were detained in Phuket, the weekend holiday caused a brief delay.
Officials confirmed that the Luthra brothers will be handed over to the Goa Police in Delhi, ruling out any travel by the State police to Thailand. The duo is expected to arrive in Goa on Tuesday night and will be taken directly to the Anjuna Police Station for questioning before being produced before the Mapusa court on December 17.
The Goa government has constituted a special legal team to pursue the case. The Luthra brothers, along with six others already in police custody, have been booked under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment. They also face charges related to negligence endangering human life, negligent handling of fire or combustible materials, and common intention.
Officials said the deportation process has entered its final phase, with Indian authorities submitting all required documentation to Thai officials, including emergency certificates issued after the cancellation of the brothers’ passports. Most procedural hurdles have now been resolved.
Earlier on Monday, lawyers representing the brothers met them briefly while they were in Thai custody. The Luthras were detained by Thai police at a hotel in Patong, Phuket, last Thursday after India suspended their passports. They had allegedly fled the country on December 7, shortly after the fatal fire at the Birch nightclub in Goa.
The Embassy of India in Bangkok, Interpol, the CBI and the Goa Police have been coordinating closely with Thai authorities since the brothers were traced and detained.