Days after a deadly fire at an upscale Goa nightclub killed 25 people, attention has turned to brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, once rising stars of India’s hospitality scene and now facing serious criminal scrutiny. The Delhi-born entrepreneurs, who built a nationwide nightlife empire from modest beginnings, were deported from Thailand after fleeing India hours after the blaze, while a third partner was detained in Delhi. Raised in a middle-class household with a paralysed father and a deeply religious mother, the brothers started small with a café near Delhi University in 2016 before striking gold with Romeo Lane, a flamboyant yet affordable nightclub brand that expanded rapidly across Indian cities and even abroad. Saurabh became the public face of the business, earning media accolades and social media fame, while Gaurav handled operations behind the scenes. Their Goa venture, Birch by Romeo Lane, was meant to be a luxury escape but instead became the site of one of the state’s deadliest nightlife disasters. Long before the fire, the brothers’ properties had drawn complaints over noise, permits, environmental concerns and encroachments, though many cases were unresolved or closed. Now accused of culpable homicide and other offences, the brothers deny wrongdoing, insisting they were not responsible for day-to-day safety. As investigations continue, their story has shifted dramatically—from ambition and expansion to public outrage and mourning—turning once-celebrated entrepreneurs into symbols of a tragedy that has shaken Goa and the country.