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New Delhi: The Luthra brothers’, who are presently amongst India’s most wanted, attempts to distance themselves from the Goa nightclub where 25 people were killed has begun to unravel as company filings, government records in Delhi, and their own past interviews contradict their claim that they had no role in running the establishment. Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, directors of GS Foodstudio Private Limited and faces of the Romeo Lane hospitality chain, have told a Delhi court while filing their anticipatory bail that they were not involved in day to day operations of the Vagator property and that local partners managed the business.
However, documents across multiple states, public statements made by the brothers before the tragedy, and the corporate structure they put in place over the past several years tell a very different story. Filings with the Registrar of Companies show that GS Foodstudio Private Limited, the flagship company controlled by the brothers, is an active private entity that owns and operates hospitality brands including Romeo Lane, Birch, CAHA and Mama’s Buoi. Corporate records list both brothers as managing directors. Their names appear across a cluster of hospitality companies and LLPs created for different cities and projects, including entities registered in Goa and Mumbai.
In Delhi, official documents record “Romeo Lane, a unit of GS Foodstudio Private Limited, D 12 Defence Colony” in regulatory and consent listings, indicating that the brand is not a franchise or passive investment but a unit directly controlled by the company headed by the brothers. These formal trails contradict the position that they merely provided their names while others operated the business.
The corporate footprint linked to the brothers is considerably larger than what they now acknowledge. ROC data shows that Gaurav Luthra, using DIN 08023698, is currently associated with at least ten hospitality entities. These include Being Bharat Romeo Lane Hospitality LLP, Being Bharat Hospitality Private Limited, OSRJ Food and Entertainment Private Limited, Being FS Pacific Hospitality Private Limited, Being GS Hospitality Private Limited, GS Foodstudio Private Limited, Being GS Hospitality Goa Asagaon LLP, Being GS Hospitality LLP, Being GS Hospitality Mumbai LLP and Being GS Hospitality Tagore Pacific LLP.
Further scrutiny of ROC records shows that the scale of Gaurav Luthra’s involvement is significantly wider. Using the same DIN, he is associated with 22 companies and LLPs, many of them created in the months immediately preceding the Goa expansion. These include Being RL Hospitality LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, Being GS Hospitality Mumbai LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Ashvem LLP, YB Hospitality LLP, Being GS Hospitality Greater Noida LLP, Being GS Hospitality VK LLP, Being GS Hospitality Noida LLP, Being Bharat Romeo Lane Hospitality LLP, Cana Buildtech LLP, Being GS Hospitality Tagore Pacific LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Morjim LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Asagaon LLP and Being GS Hospitality LLP. He simultaneously held directorships in OSRJ Food and Entertainment Private Limited, Being GS Hospitality Private Limited, Being FS Pacific Hospitality Private Limited, Being Life Hospitality Private Limited, Being Bharat Hospitality Private Limited, Virtue Food and Beverages Private Limited and G3S Foodshala Private Limited, while continuing as managing director of GS Foodstudio Private Limited since June 2019.
Saurabh Luthra’s corporate footprint is even larger. Using DIN 07813443, he is linked to 24 hospitality entities spread across Delhi, Goa, Mumbai, Noida, Greater Noida and other regions. These include Azizaa Food Studio LLP, Being RL Hospitality LLP, Rich People Hospitality LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, Being GS Hospitality Mumbai LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Ashvem LLP, YB Hospitality LLP, Being GS Hospitality Greater Noida LLP, Being GS Hospitality VK LLP, Being GS Hospitality Noida LLP, Being Bharat Romeo Lane Hospitality LLP, Cana Buildtech LLP, Being GS Hospitality Tagore Pacific LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Morjim LLP, Being GS Hospitality Goa Asagaon LLP and Being GS Hospitality LLP. He also serves as director or additional director in OSRJ Food and Entertainment Private Limited, Being GS Hospitality Private Limited, Being FS Pacific Hospitality Private Limited, Being Life Hospitality Private Limited, Being Bharat Hospitality Private Limited, Virtue Food and Beverages Private Limited and G3S Foodshala Private Limited, and has been managing director of GS Foodstudio Private Limited since its incorporation in 2019.
Email sent to them seeking a response went unanswered.
A review of this structure shows a pattern commonly used by expanding hospitality groups, where individual LLPs are created for each city or outlet to house location specific projects, manage local leases or investors, and isolate the operational liabilities of one outlet from another. The creation of separate LLPs in Goa, Mumbai and other locations indicates not only planned expansion but an organised structuring of their business, something that would require active oversight from the promoters themselves and again contradicts the narrative that they were not involved in operations or decision making.
The filings also show that GS Foodstudio was not dormant or inactive in the period leading up to the Goa project. In January 2024, the company created a secured financial charge in favour of Deutsche Bank for Rs 25 lakh. Such a charge requires approval and execution by company directors and is granted only to entities undertaking ongoing operations. The existence of the charge establishes that the company was functioning, borrowing and conducting business activities well into 2024, undermining the brothers’ argument that they were not involved in running the chain and had reduced their role to that of non-operational partners.
Their own past public statements add further weight. In an interview published in 2021, long before the Goa expansion, both brothers described themselves as hands-on operators who personally supervised design, staffing, concept creation, operations, accounts and sourcing for all their outlets. Saurabh Luthra was quoted as saying that he worked 48 hour stretches when required, while Gaurav described himself as the person responsible for accounts, operations and vendor tie ups. The article portrayed the two as deeply involved in the running of their restaurants and lounges and as entrepreneurs who managed everything from concept to execution without relying on external operators. When read today, the interview directly contradicts their claim in court that they were not involved in operations of the Goa establishment and that daily running of the nightclub was handled solely by local partners.
Authorities in Goa have also pointed to the brothers’ involvement, noting that the structure was demolished twice for illegal construction and was rebuilt again before the fire. A senior official familiar with the investigation said the pattern of repeated demolition and reconstruction indicated a level of control and decision making that could not be attributed only to local staff of the restro bar.
Their decision to leave India for Thailand shortly after the tragedy has further strengthened the view within investigative agencies that the brothers acted as the controlling minds behind the business and not as distant owners with no operational knowledge. Their lawyers have argued in court that they went abroad for work and intend to cooperate, but investigators maintain that the conduct is inconsistent with the conduct of mere investors who have no managerial role.
Taken together, the company filings, the network of hospitality LLPs and private companies bearing their names, the Deutsche Bank secured loan, regulatory records in Delhi, the brothers’ own earlier interviews and the pattern of decision making around the Goa property show that Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra were not passive owners. They actively built, scaled and operated a multi city hospitality chain through multiple entities in which they held controlling positions. Their public narrative of being perfectionist, detail oriented entrepreneurs during their years of expansion now stands at odds with their attempt to portray themselves as uninvolved in the operations of the nightclub where 25 people died.
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