Some of the arrested men on the way to the court in Alipurduar on Sunday. Picture by Main Uddin Chisti

TT, Alipurduar: A section of people roughed up a mentally challenged man accusing him being a child-lifter and attacked a police team that arrived to rescue him in Falakata on Saturday evening.

At least three policemen were injured in the attack at Khagenhat and reinforcements were sent to conducted raids. The police have arrested 14 people for assaulting the alleged vagrant and attacking the law enforcers.

Sources said some local people had spotted a man, aged around 45 years, on Saturday evening offering biscuits to a seven-year-old boy at Khagenhat.

Soon, they gathered and intercepted the man. He was taken to a primary school where his limbs were tied. As they questioned him, the man failed to reply properly.

"The man was fumbling and it fuelled their apprehension that he was a child lifter. They thought he had a plan to take away the boy," said a police source.

The mob assaulted him and the police were informed about the incident. A police team led by Binod Gazmer, the inspector-in-charge of Falakata police station, reached the spot.

As they tried to take away the victim, some people in the mob attacked the police. Stones and bricks were hurled at the police and Gazmer and two others suffered injuries.

The police, however, managed to rescue the man and took him to the police station. The injured policemen were provided with treatment.

On Sunday, policemen released the victim, who they said, appeared to be mentally-challenged. "He speaks in broken Hindi and could not provide details about himself," said an officer.

Ganesh Biswas, the additional superintendent of police of Jaigaon, said: "As police went to the spot, some residents attacked the police team. We have started an investigation and arrested some of the attackers."

All the 14 were produced in a court here on Sunday. They were remanded in police custody for three days.

In north Bengal districts, a number of incidents where some were randomly branded as child-lifters were reported recently.

On July 17, a woman, suspected to be mentally ill, was assaulted at Baroghoria village in Dhupguri block. Four women were assaulted at Daukimari, also in Dhupguri, on July 25.