ISLAMABAD: Banigala police have registered a case against eight unknown men who set fire to a yoga centre on Saturday night.

The guard of ‘An Art of Living Yoga Centre’, Hasan Ali, filed a written complaint with the police stating that eight armed men, with faces covered, entered the centre and tied up two guards, including himself.

Hasan Ali said the men asked them if there was any cash or valuable in the centre, to which “we replied that there was nothing except blankets, furniture and documents”.

“They then sprinkled petrol in different rooms and set them ablaze after which they escaped in two vehicles. Due to low visibility, it was not possible to see their number plates,” the guard said.

Zarmina Sehgal, the media coordinator of the yoga centre, told Dawn that they had never received any threat so they could not say who would have been behind the incident.

“We have not nominated any person in the FIR. We are confused as to what message the armed men wanted to give to us,” she said.

Investigation Officer Gulzar Ahmed said it was not clear why the centre had been set on fire.

“I questioned the residents of the area whether they had any complaint against the yoga centre but they had none. In fact many people joined in efforts to put out the fire, and brought the flames under control even before the fire brigade arrived at the scene,” the officer said.

“All suspects had covered their faces and spoke just a few sentences with the guards so it is not possible to say who they were,” he said.

A resident of a nearby area, Jamil Abbasi, said as soon as he saw flames, he reached there but by that time the culprits had escaped.

A member of the yoga centre, Meena Gabeena, while talking to Dawn, said she had visited the centre on Sunday morning.

“In some rooms there were carpets, record in cupboards while in another there were blankets which had been completely burnt,” she added.

A police official, requesting not to be identified, said there was an impression that yoga was an Indian practice and that the people at the club were influenced by Indian religious leaders.

“However this cannot be confirmed till the investigation is completed or someone claims responsibility of the incident,” the police official said.