The Goa tourism department on Tuesday demolished the illegal club ‘Romeo Lane’ located on the Vagator beach of the fugitive owners of the fire-ravaged nightclub – Sourav and Gaurav Luthra. A senior official said that Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra built the club on the land of the tourism department. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had ordered the officials to start the process of demolishing the club. The official said that the wooden structure was demolished with the help of machines and the tourism department freed 198 square meters of land. The structure was demolished within two hours in the presence of the police.
Also, Interpol’s ‘Blue Corner Notice’ was issued against both of them. A senior officer of Goa Police said that coordination with the Interpol wing of CBI has been started to arrest the two brothers soon. Over the past few years, the CBI’s Global Operations Center has traced more than 200 fugitives and extradited or deported 136 to India. The same procedure is being followed in the case of Luthra brothers.
What is a Blue Corner Notice?
In India, CBI is the nodal agency for communication with Interpol. Interpol issues notices in seven colors – red, blue, yellow, black, green, orange and violet. A Blue Notice gives member states the right to collect information on a suspect’s location and activities, but does not request an arrest. At the same time, a red notice is for arrest and extradition and for this it is necessary to file a charge sheet and issue a non-bailable warrant.
The India-Thailand Extradition Treaty
is the formal extradition treaty between India and Thailand since 2015. Cooperation between the two countries in criminal matters has been strong. Many Indian refugees from Bangkok have been returned to India in the last ten years. Goa Police and CBI officials are hopeful that the Luthra brothers will also be brought to India soon. For this, the process of issuing an arrest warrant from the Goa court and delivering it to the Thai authorities through the Ministry of External Affairs is also underway.
How did Luthra Bhai escape?
According to the police, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra left for Phuket on an Indigo flight at around 5:30 am on Sunday, just six hours after the fire incident. By Monday, it was confirmed that both had arrived in Thailand.