A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, an owner of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, where a devastating fire claimed 25 lives, raising questions about accountability and the ongoing investigation into the tragic incident.
A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in the state, where a devastating fire killed 25 persons in December last year, his lawyer said.
Gupta was arrested in New Delhi more than three months ago.
The district court at Mapusa in North Goa granted him bail on Monday.
Lawyer Rohan Desai, representing the accused, told the court during arguments that there was no evidence against Gupta in the chargesheet filed by the police in the case.
The voluminous chargesheet does not specify any role of Gupta in the tragedy, he said, adding that allegations of forging documents levelled against his client were also unfounded.
The judge released Gupta on a surety of Rs 50,000 and imposed several conditions, including that he shall not leave the country without the court's permission and surrender his passport before it, Desai said.
The court also asked Gupta not to tamper with evidence while on bail, he added.
Twenty-five persons -- 20 staff members and five tourists -- were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub at Arpora village in North Goa around midnight on December 6 last year. After the tragedy, police arrested 13 persons, including the nightclub's owners.
On February 27, police filed a 4,150-page chargesheet in connection with the fire against 13 accused, including the owners, Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Gupta. Statements of more than 300 witnesses were recorded by the police.