MEERUT, Nov. 7 -- A 20-year-old man was set afire allegedly by three unidentified men when he was going back home after offering namaz in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district on Friday morning, police said even as the victim's family alleged that the incident was a fallout of an argument that he had with the three accused inside the mosque over the spot where he was offering namaz on Thursday.

The incident occurred in Islamnagar police station area under Islamnagar nagar panchayat, police added. The victim, identified as Mahboob, the son of Sattar and a resident of Mohalla Mustafabad Nai Basti, suffered around 50% burns and is undergoing treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh.

Badaun superintendent of police (rural) said, "A ...