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In a shocking incident, a man, identified as 20-year-old Mehboob, was tied to a pole and set on fire following a dispute over a place to offer prayers inside a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district, police said.

The man survived the attack and is recovering in a hospital.

The incident took place on Friday morning, a day after a dispute erupted at a mosque on Sahaswan Road. Police said the clash began when Mehboob and three other men from the same neighbourhood, Mustafabad in Islamnagar Nagar Panchayat, got into an argument over where to offer prayers inside the mosque.

The disagreement on Thursday was briefly settled after others in the mosque intervened. But as Mehboob returned to offer the early morning prayers, on Friday, the argument resumed, but with a violent turn.

As he stepped outside the mosque, three men overpowered him, tied him to a pole with a rope, and poured petrol over him before setting him on fire.

Mehboob freed himself after the ropes burned away, and ran home with severe burn injuries. His family rushed him to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Rudayan, where doctors later referred him to a higher medical facility in Aligarh. Police said his condition is now stable and out of danger.

According to Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hardesh Katheria, police received information about the incident through the state’s emergency helpline, UP-112.

However, the police said that they investigating the case from “all possible angles” as they have also uncovered CCTV footage from a nearby petrol pump showing Mehboob himself buying petrol shortly before the incident.

The investigation is ongoing, and all versions are being verified, SP Katheria added.

(With inputs from PTI)