Delhi-based restaurateurs Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, wanted in connection with the Goa nightclub fire that claimed 25 lives, have been detained in Thailand. Images circulating online show the brothers with their hands tied, holding their passports, as they stand beside Thai police officials.

Brothers held in Phuket as India seeks deportation

The Luthra brothers, who run the Romeo Lane chain across multiple cities and countries, left for Phuket just hours after a massive blaze gutted their ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub in north Goa’s Arpora. They are facing charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence. Indian agencies are now preparing to push for their deportation so they can be tried in Goa.

Deadly fire triggered by flammable decor and safety lapses

The late-night blaze erupted during a musical event attended by around 100 people, most of them tourists. The use of electric firecrackers during a performance is suspected to have triggered the fire. The venue’s heavy use of flammable décor and absence of functional fire extinguishers or alarms turned it into a death trap.

A narrow access road further delayed fire engines, forcing responders to park nearly 400 metres away, significantly hindering rescue operations. By the time the blaze was doused, 25 people — including five tourists and 20 staff members — had died, most due to toxic smoke inhalation in the basement.

Police pursuit and legal battle

Following the incident, four staff members were arrested and a search began for the Luthras. Investigators from Goa and Delhi discovered the brothers had booked their tickets soon after the fire and left the country within hours. Their business partner, Ajay Gupta, has already been arrested in Delhi.

The brothers have moved a Delhi court seeking anticipatory bail, arguing they were licensees, not owners, of the building. They claimed they were not present at the nightclub when the fire occurred and said their travel to Thailand was for a business meeting, not to evade investigation. Their plea seeks four weeks of protection from arrest upon their return to India.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi were locked in a sharp confrontation in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing debate on electoral reforms. The exchange intensified when Gandhi challenged the Home minister to engage in a direct debate over his press conferences alleging irregularities in voter lists.

Shah counters allegations over voter rolls

During his address, Amit Shah criticised the Opposition for raising doubts about existing voter lists while simultaneously objecting to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He remarked that concerns over voter rolls often emerged only when the Opposition performed poorly in elections. Taking aim at Gandhi’s earlier briefings on alleged discrepancies—one of which had been described as a “Hydrogen Bomb”—Shah accused certain political families of practicing “generational vote theft”.

As Gandhi intervened, demanding Shah explain the immunity provided to Election Commissioners and challenging him to debate the content of his press conferences, the Home minister firmly stated that Parliament would not run as per Gandhi’s directions and that he would decide the order of his responses.

Rahul Gandhi accuses Home minister of avoiding key questions

Unconvinced by Shah’s reply, Gandhi labelled the minister’s remarks “defensive and fearful”. Shah responded that he would not be provoked and asserted that “vote theft” happens when electoral mandates are overturned.

Attack on Nehru-Gandhi family escalates tensions

Amit Shah intensified his criticism by invoking historical examples. He claimed the first instance of “vote theft” occurred during the selection of India’s first Prime Minister, alleging that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had secured more votes than Jawaharlal Nehru from provincial Congress units. Shah also referenced the 1975 court verdict that struck down Indira Gandhi’s election from Rae Bareli, calling the events that followed a major attempt at “vote theft”.

He further mentioned a court case alleging that Sonia Gandhi had cast a vote before becoming an Indian citizen—a point immediately contested by Congress MPs.

Opposition walks out after EVM, SIR remarks

Shah asserted that the Opposition’s objections to Electronic Voting Machines and resistance to SIR were attempts to retain ineligible names, including illegal immigrants, on voter lists. This led to a walkout by Opposition MPs.

Outside Parliament, Gandhi reiterated that the minister had not addressed core issues such as transparency in voter lists, clarity on the EVM architecture, or the evidence he presented in his press conferences.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the governing trust of the Tirumala temple, is facing serious questions after an internal vigilance probe uncovered a Rs 54 crore scandal involving fake silk dupattas supplied between 2015 and 2025. The inquiry revealed that the contractor had allegedly passed off 100% polyester material as pure mulberry silk, violating tender norms and causing massive financial loss to the temple trust.

How the large-scale fraud was uncovered

According to the vigilance findings, a single contractor and its sister firms were involved in supplying dupattas meant for donors and temple rituals. Despite the tender mandate requiring pure mulberry silk, the firm consistently delivered polyester products while billing the temple trust at silk prices.

The probe, launched after concerns were raised by TTD Chairman BR Naidu, found that a dupatta costing around Rs 350 was billed at Rs 1,300, inflating costs across ten years. Samples sent for scientific testing—including to a Central Silk Board laboratory—confirmed the material was polyester.

Officials also flagged that the mandatory silk hologram used to verify authenticity was missing from the samples.

TTD cancels tenders, refers case to ACB

After receiving the vigilance report, the TTD Trust Board cancelled all existing tenders linked to the firm and transferred the matter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for further investigation.

Chairman BR Naidu said the total supplies during the period exceeded Rs 50 crore and emphasised the need for a thorough ACB probe.

Another controversy for the temple administration

The dupatta scam adds to a list of procurement-related concerns that have recently surfaced at the temple. Earlier, controversies related to alleged adulteration of ghee used in laddu prasadam and the Parakamani (hundi counting) theft case had raised alarms over internal oversight.

With recurring procurement lapses, pressure is mounting on the temple administration to tighten its auditing and vendor scrutiny mechanisms.