Goa suspended an official over a fire that killed 25, then made her housing board chief
On the night of 6 December 2025 a fire at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, North Goa, killed 25 people, including tourists and staff; officials said the club allegedly lacked even a fire department NOC. The Goa government suspended three officials, including then Director of Panchayats Siddhi Halarnkar and Goa State Pollution Control Board member secretary Shamila Monteiro, for allowing the club to operate without required permissions in 2023, and the local sarpanch said a panchayat demolition notice against the club had been stayed by the Directorate of Panchayats. Halarnkar was questioned by police over the failure to demolish the club. On 1 March 2026 the state revoked the suspensions of Halarnkar and Monteiro and appointed Halarnkar managing director of the Goa Housing Board; only the village panchayat secretary was dismissed.
Halarnekar has now been appointed Managing Director of the Goa Housing Board
The panchayat had issued a demolition notice, which was stayed by officials of the Directorate of Panchayats, Redkar claimed.
Halarnkar is under the scanner of investigating agencies for her alleged role in the failure to demolish the fire-ravaged Birch by Romeo Lane.
suspended three officials over lapses in granting permissions to the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub
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