Panaji: Working as a chef in one of the beachside eateries in Goa, Vikas Munda had slowly become used to the heavy workload of Sundays, where he barely had a moment to breathe between the relentless rush of tourist orders.
This Sunday, the 22-year-old from Jharkhand had an even heavier workload—but it wasn’t from taking orders at the nightclub. Instead, he was busy identifying the body of his younger brother and then arranging to take the body to his home in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi, where his parents and elder brothers were used to receiving only their hard-earned salaries.
Vikas’s younger brother, Mohit Munda, was one of 25 people who died in a blaze that tore through the North Goa nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, late Saturday.
The Goa Police and administration took the bodies of the 25 victims – who died either of suffocation, inhalation of toxic gas or burn injuries – to the Goa Medical College, where Vikas waited, the shock and helplessness written across his face.
Mohit, also a chef, was trapped in the kitchen of the restaurant and nightclub Arpora village of North Goa district, when the first and only floor of the building was engulfed in flames.
“My father and elder brother are farmers. We were the only ones in our family earning, and we were their hopes. I don’t know what to say now. I don’t know how we shall survive from hereon,” a distraught Vikas told ThePrint.
Both brothers studied up to the intermediate level in Ranchi and came to Goa only a year ago. Vikas got a job at a hotel in North Goa, while Mohit joined the Birch by Romeo Lane kitchen.
At a press conference Sunday evening, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that only two of the 25 victims died from burn injuries and that the rest died of suffocation because they were trapped in the basement kitchen.
“The fire department recovered only two bodies from the incident site, which were due to fire injuries. Initially, the toll was suspected to be only two, but eventually, on a thorough search, 23 more bodies were recovered from the basement,” Sawant told reporters.
Flanked by Director General of Police Alok Kumar and Chief Secretary V. Candavelou, Sawant ordered them to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the officials responsible for the incident and the authorities who issued licenses for the nightclub.
“Suspension orders will start coming in shortly,” Sawant told reporters in Panaji Sunday.
Sawant announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased persons, while Rs 50,000 will be sanctioned to the injured from the State Disaster Response Force fund.
He also said that the Goa government will provide transportation for all bodies to their homes, including in Nepal. A special team has been constituted for this.
The death of 25 people in the nightclub blaze has raised questions about safety norms and management conduct, with most of the victims dying of suffocation in the basement kitchen.
The Goa Police have booked the chairman of Romeo Lane, Saurabh Luthra, his brother, Gaurav, and other unknown key managerial staff of the restaurant chain under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125 (endangering life or personal safety of others), 125 (a), 125 (b) and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) read with section 3 (5) (common intention) of the BNS, 2023.
“All efforts are underway to arrest the owner duo as soon as possible,” DGP Kumar said in the press conference. The state police so far have arrested five employees of the club, responsible for operations on daily basis.
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‘Died of suffocation’
Outside the hospital building, scores of migrant labourers and chefs working in other hotels and eateries in Goa sat anxiously under the shade of trees, waiting for updates.
Among those outside the hospital building was Anurag from Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, who was waiting to confirm the death of his village friend, 26-year-old Satish Rana, one of the chefs at Birch by Romeo Lane who died in the fire.
Anurag said that he was shown a picture of Satish’s body, which suggested he died of suffocation.
“Police showed me a picture of Satish. This is a horrible tragedy. He did not die of fire but due to suffocation,” said a dejected Anurag.
Anurag said Satish was transferred to the Romeo Lane property only five months ago.
“We came around two years back and got our jobs at the Vagator property of Romeo Lane. Satish was transferred five months back to this property, and see where it has taken him,” said Anurag.
Satish is survived by his parents and a younger brother in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district.
The Mahatos
Sanjay Mahato, who has been in Goa for about four years, learned of the fire from his family in Ranchi, who had seen it on the news.
“After I was alerted, I enquired about the incident from fellow chefs and people from Jharkhand who know each other. I was told that Pradeep and Vinod Mahato from my village were also taken to the hospital. So I came here early morning,” Mahato told ThePrint.
Both Pradeep and Vinod are brothers from Fatehpur village on the outskirts of Ranchi and have been working in Goa for more than five years, Sanjay said.
“They were the first few people who had come to Goa for jobs and livelihoods, followed by many like me. This is shattering to the core. We have come so far away from our homes merely to earn a living for our families and die this miserably,” Sanjay added with tears in his eyes.
Pradeep and Vinod left behind their father and an elder brother in Ranchi.
Sitting beside Mahato was Amish Rawat, another chef from Uttarakhand, who was at the Goa Medical College to identify and help in the transfer of his cousin’s body to their village in Tehri Garhwal district.
He said that his cousin, Jitender Rawat, was new to Goa, and Birch by Romeo Lane was his first job in the coastal state. Rawat was working in Delhi earlier and moved to Goa a few months ago to look for better opportunities.
“Who would not love to work in Goa? There is high demand for chefs and kitchen staff here due to high tourist footfall,” Amish said.
‘They could have been saved’
Amidst the grieving families, friends or acquaintances outside the mortuary, Janak, a chef from Nepal, was most vocal.
He had come to identify and assist officials with the postmortem of his fellow countryman, Vivek Chhetri, who had been working in Goa for nearly 1.5 years. “He has left behind a two-year-old child and a housewife. Who will look after them?” Janak said.
“I cannot believe that these chefs working in the kitchen would not have rushed out of the basement if they had been informed. The managers and other senior people of the club rushed out and didn’t think of saving him,” Janak added.
The police have arrested five club employees—Chief General Manager Rajiv Modak, general managers Vivek Singh and Rajiv Singhania—along with the gate manager Priyanshu Thakur, saying the management on the ground was liable for the fire. Later, one Bharat, who was running daily operations, was detained in Delhi and being taken to Goa as part of investigation.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: Goa nightclub fire: FIR lodged, owners served notice, CM Sawant orders magisterial inquiry