NEW DELHI/panaji, Dec. 11 -- A Delhi court on Wednesday refused to grant immediate relief from arrest to Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Goa nightclub where in a devastating fire claimed 25 lives last week, even as their partner Ajay Gupta was brought to the coastal state from Delhi on a transit remand later in the day. Luthra brothers, the primary owners of the club Birch by Romeo Lane in North Goa, fled to Phuket in Thailand hours after the massive blaze at the establishment on Saturday night. On Wednesday, the Goa Police denied allegations that delay on their part allowed the brothers to flee the country. Before the additional sessions judge Vandana of Rohini courts, the lawyer for the Delhi-based entrepreneurs refuted allegations that they had fled, claiming the trip was for a business meeting and argued that the brothers are only licensees, not the actual owners of the nightclub. In the plea, Saurabh requested four weeks of transit anticipatory protection, arguing that returning to Goa posed an "imminent threat to his life, liberty and safety" due to angry mob. "My other restaurants have been bulldozed. The authorities and even the fourth estate are baying for my blood," his lawyer said in the court. However, ASJ Vandana posted the matter for Thursday seeking Goa police's response on the plea. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and Tanvir Ahmed Mir were representing Luthras while senior advocate Abhinav Mukerji and Goa's standing counsel Surjendu Shankar Das were representing the coastal state. Luthras' counsel claimed the accused were not the owners of the nightclub. "Going through the agreements, I am the licensee and the owner is someone else.the fire system has been bought from another place and I can't repair it without the permission of the owners," the counsel argued. Claiming that the accused faced threat to their lives, Mir said, "There is a direct threat to my safety. I will be lynched in Goa. My other restaurants have been bulldozed straight away.We will join the investigation.I shall be prosecuted but not persecuted." The judge raised the issue of maintainability of the petition, given that they are currently located in Thailand, the counsels said that since both the brothers had their permanent residence in Delhi's Model Town and only want a transit anticipatory relief when they come back to Delhi. Meanwhile, the Goa Police in a statement said that Luthra brothers booked their tickets at 1.17am on December 7, barely an hour after learning about the fire, which killed 25 people, including 20 staff members. The tickets were booked online through Makemytrip. "The Goa police investigation has revealed that the Luthra brothers booked tickets to Thailand on MMT platform at 1.17 AM on 7th December. While Goa Police and Fire Services were battling the blaze and rescuing those trapped, the accused were preparing to flee the country," Goa Police PRO Nilesh Rane said. He added that the allegation of an "assisted escape" was completely false. "The accused left on a 5.30 am flight, meaning they fled immediately after learning of the incident and before the scale of the tragedy was even known," the police said. Separately, additional chief judicial magistrate Vinod Joshi of Saket court allowed the Goa police 36-hour transit remand of Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner and investor in the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, hours after he was arrested with help of Delhi Police Crime Branch....