A court in Goa on Thursday sent Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner and investor in the fire-ravaged ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, to police custody for seven days.
Gupta, who was arrested in Delhi on Wednesday, was brought to Goa late in the evening on a transit remand for questioning. He was taken to Anjuna police station for further investigation, an official had said.
He was produced in a court in Mapusa town, 9 km from here, on Thursday. The court remanded him in police custody for seven days.
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Rohan Desai, the lawyer representing Gupta, said the Goa police had sought his client’s custody for ten days, but the court granted only seven days.
He said that his client is “completely cooperating with the investigating agency”.
Gupta claims he was only a ‘sleeping partner’
As he was being escorted into a police vehicle, Gupta told reporters that he had no role to play in the deadly accident.
“I don’t know anything. I have no involvement. I was a sleeping partner and had no say in the operations of the club,” he said.
Twenty-five persons, including 20 staff members and five tourists, were killed in the major blaze at the facility in North Goa around midnight on December 6.
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Club staff in custody
Earlier, a Look Out Circular (LOC) had been issued against Gupta.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire that broke out at the nightclub located in Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, around midnight on December 6.
Brothers and co-owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who had left for Phuket in Thailand shortly after the fire incident, have been detained there, according to officials. An Interpol Blue Corner Notice had been issued against them. |
