Goa Arpora Fire Tragedy: Officials Suspended Amid 25 Deaths and Arrests

According to the Directorate of Vigilance," Dr Shamila Monteiro, Director of Fisheries and the then Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, suspended with immediate effect."

Additionally, Siddhi Tushar Harlankar, then Director and Additional Director of Panchayat, and Reghuvir D Bagkar, then Secretary of Village Panchayat, Arpora-Nagoa, have also been placed under suspension, the Directorate of Vigilance added.

The suspension follows the Arpora restaurant fire incident, which prompted an official probe into potential regulatory lapses and compliance failures. The tragic blaze, which broke out in the early hours of Sunday, claimed the lives of at least 25 people, including four tourists and 14 restaurant staff members.

Emergency teams responded immediately, transporting the injured to nearby hospitals, while authorities worked through the night to contain the situation.

Meanwhile, four people, including three General Managers and one Bar Manager, who were arrested in connection with the fire at the restaurant in North Goa's Arpora, have been remanded to the custody of the State Police by a local court.

Those arrested include Rajiv Modak, 49, Chief General Manager, a native of RK Puram, New Delhi; Priyanshu Thakur, 32, Gate Manager, from Malviya Nagar, New Delhi; Rajveer Singhania, 32, Bar Manager, from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh; and Vivek Singh, 27, General Manager, from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Goa Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar said an FIR has been registered against the owners, Saurav Luthra and Gaurav Luthra.

According to the Goa police, a total of 25 bodies were shifted to GMC Bambolim and the process of identifying the bodies is underway, and all efforts are being made to establish the identities at the earliest.

"Of the six injured persons, one has been discharged, while five continue to remain admitted and are under treatment," the police said.

"An offence has been registered at Anjuna Police Station u/s 105, 125, 125(a), 125(b), 287 r/w 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The senior Police officers of Goa police are camping at Anjuna police station and closely monitoring the investigation. Postmortem examination of the 17 bodies held. Five bodies have been handed over to the relatives for final religious rites," the Goa police added.

An eyewitness claimed that the blaze could have erupted from a spark on their wooden roof after a pyro gun was shot.

Speaking to ANI, an eyewitness said, "The dancer was entertaining everyone and songs were being played. In between, a pyro gun was shot, and I believe because of it, there was a spark on their wooden roof. People thought it would be taken care of, but within two minutes, the fire spread and people could not come out. They have their kitchen in the basement, and there is no scope of exit.."

Another eyewitness who sustained injuries said that the incident took place around midnight when the party was going on.

"The incident took place around midnight. Almost all the guests managed to come out. There were some people trapped inside. I came here around 11 pm. Some people tried to control the fire. Around 70-80 people were present there. There was only one exit from where everyone came out," the eyewitness said.

- ANI