The Rajput Karni Sena on Thursday said film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was behind the attack on a school bus in Gurugram during protests against the film Padmaavat on Wednesday. The group denied it had any role in the incident, The Indian Express reported.

“The attack on the school bus was not an act by any Rajput or Hindu group,” said Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi. “I am absolutely sure that Bhansali and his network are behind the attack. It is not the dharma of a Rajput or a Kshatriya to attack children.”

The outfit has vehemently protested against the film for months. This delayed its earlier scheduled release on December 1, and the film finally hit screens across the country on Thursday. Violent protests were reported from several states on the first day of screening.

“There are efforts being made to implicate and defame the Karni Sena,” Kalvi was quoted as saying. “We will continue our protest against the film in the coming days.”

On Wednesday, mobs protesting against the film’s release set a Haryana state bus on fire and pelted stones at the school bus in Gurugram. Students were still inside the bus when the protestors began to pelt stones at it, reports said. A video of the incident showed teachers and students crouching below the seats as the driver made his way past the protestors.

The men who attacked the bus were detained and sent to 14 days in judicial custody on Thursday.