Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar, the original owner of the land on which the fire-ravaged nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane stood in North Goa, has alleged that one of the accused in the case, Surinder Kumar Khosla, fled to the UK after the tragedy and was protected by “some big guys”.
In an interview with PTI on Friday, Amonkar claimed that police allowed Khosla, a British national, to leave the country following the December 6 blaze at the Arpora village nightclub, which claimed 25 lives. Khosla has been named as an accused in the same First Information Report as the club owners, though he is yet to be arrested.
Goa Police have so far arrested eight people, including club owners Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta. A senior police official said efforts were ongoing to trace Khosla.
Amonkar alleged that Khosla was the “prime accused”, pointing out that demolition orders and complaints against the nightclub were issued in his name. He also claimed the local Arpora-Nagoa panchayat granted permission for the club despite being informed in writing that the land did not belong to the applicants.
The landowner has been engaged in a long-running legal dispute with Khosla and recently filed a civil suit before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court, which was later converted into a Public Interest Litigation seeking accountability for the fire tragedy.
According to Amonkar, he had rented out 24 apartments on the property to Khosla in 2004 and later entered into an agreement to sell the land, which he withdrew after receiving no payment. He alleged that possession was never restored and that the nightclub was subsequently set up on the land.
Amonkar said Khosla was in Goa at the time of the fire and was scheduled to attend a court hearing. While expressing confidence in the overall investigation, he raised concerns over the failure to arrest Khosla.
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