A mechanic with the Nizhny Novgorod metro has been arrested and charged with attempted murder for purportedly setting his boss on fire in an argument about time off from work, regional investigators said.

On Tuesday, the 59-year-old mechanic &mdash identified by Lifenews.ru as Viktor Poperekov &mdash became enraged after his boss, 49-year-old Igor Rychkov, declined to grant him a day off, investigators said. The suspect went into the workshop, poured about 600 milliliters of gasoline into a plastic bottle with the top cut off, and returned to demand again time off while ominously waving the fuel in front of the supervisor's face, according to investigators.

When Rychkov again refused to accede to the demand, Poperekov dumped the gasoline on him and set him alight with a match, investigators said.

Rychkov survived the flames but suffered burns on 78 percent of his body, a hospital employee told Lifenews.ru. Poperekov has admitted his guilt, RIA-Novosti reported.