Durgapur, Sept. 6: A group of masked youths allegedly poured petrol on a truck driver and set him on fire today after he refused to pay them Rs 500 as subscription for Vishwakarma puja in Durgapur.

The driver, Niranjan Shaw, was quick to remove his shirt but suffered severe burns in the left arm. He has been admitted to Durgapur subdivisional hospital.

Four other truck drivers who had come to Shaw's rescue were beaten up by the youths with sticks and rods. All the drivers had come to deliver consignments to Graphite India Ltd.

"They told me to pay Rs 500 for a Vishwakarma puja they were organising. I told them that I did not have enough money with me and could not pay them. They dragged me out and started beating me," Shaw said.

The driver said one of the youths opened a bottle and poured petrol on him. Another lighted a matchstick and set him on fire.

"I started running with my shirt on fire and somehow managed to remove it. I could have died," he said.

"We have started an inquiry to identify the youths," said Bimal Kumar Mandal, the assistant commissioner of police (east).