SWABI, May 18: Unidentified persons torched a religious seminary for girls in Maneri Payyan village of the district on late Tuesday night.

The incident infuriated residents of the area as several copies of the Holy Quran were also burnt in the incident. The attackers targeted a seminary at Mottikhel area of Maneri Payyan where girls were learning the Holy Quran from women teachers, officials said, adding an FIR was registered in Swabi City police station against unidentified persons.

The people in the neighbourhood said that attackers entered the seminary by scaling the boundary wall and broke the lock of a room where copies of the Holy Qurans were put in cupboards.

Soon after the incident, heavy contingent of police reached the site. Two persons, who reportedly saw the arsonists, were taken into custody for investigation.

Police officials said that they would trace the accused soon. Exemplary punishment would be awarded to them, they added.

The news of the incident spread like jungle fire in the area and hundreds of enraged people took to the streets. They demanded early arrest of the accused and exemplary punished to them. They threatened to stage protest demonstrations across the district if police failed to arrest the accused.

The district administration officials also visited the seminary and pledged stern action against the perpetrators.

Provincial deputy secretary of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Maulana Fazal Ali and district chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Saeed Zada visited the seminary and said that both the parties would hold a joint protest demonstration against the incident on Friday.

The leaders of the religious parties rejected the official version and claimed that about 200 copies of the Holy Quran were burnt. “We visited the seminary and saw everything. The administration should immediately arrest the people involved in the ignominious act,” said Mr Ali.