Ghaziabad, July 17 - A fire was reported in the office of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in this Uttar Pradesh (UP) city late Thursday. The incident comes in the wake of the arrest of UP Congress President Rita Bahuguna Joshi's earlier in the day.

The husk pads of an air cooler in the office caught fire at around 11 p.m. and the flames blackened the main gate. No further damage was visible.

According to the BSP District President Prem Chand Bharti, some miscreants were responsible for starting the fire. An eye witness said on the condition of anonymity, that a broken bottle and match box were found at the main gate of the office and it appeared that a bottle filled with petrol was thrown to start the fire.

The police, however, said the cooler pads caught fire because of an electrical short circuit. Media personnel covering the incident complained that police was denying them access to the office.