Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a middle-aged man for threatening to bomb the Shahi Idgah in Mathura and pouring petrol on himself while running towards the shrine.

Eyewitnesses said the accused was seen on Sunday afternoon shouting near the shrine that he was carrying a bomb and would explode it inside the mosque, located adjacent to the Krishna Janmasthan temple.

“Soon, he poured petrol on himself from a canister and ran towards the mosque. When on-duty policemen tried to catch him, he rushed into a car and locked himself inside. He was still carrying the canister, poured the remaining petrol on himself and drove the car towards the temple. The policemen broke a window of the car, opened the door and brought the man out,” a local shopkeeper was quoted as telling reporters.

The police identified the accused as Pushpendra Kumar of Meera Vihar Colony under Yamunapaar police station.

Some eyewitnesses said there were some people with Kumar who gave him the canister and the keys to the car.

“He said he wanted to set himself on fire and drive the car into the mosque but the ignition key didn’t work,” a policeman who didn’t want to be named said.

Devpal Singh, the station house in-charge of Govindnagar, said: “The man doesn’t appear mentally stable. We have come to know that recently someone died in his family.”

Hindutva groups have been demanding that the land on which the Shahi Idgah stands be handed over to the Krishna Janmasthan temple management.