Two men were assaulted and their vehicle torched over a suspicion of being cattle lifters by a group of villagers in the Maynaguri block of Jalpaiguri on Friday.

According to sources, some local residents spotted the duo trying to drag two goats into their car at Kalirdanga village on Friday morning.

“The residents intercepted the two men and challenged them. As the two could not come up with a proper reply, the local people started beating them. Some others set their vehicle on fire,” said Biswajit Roy, a local panchayat member.

The two suspected cattle lifters hail from the neighbouring Mekhliganj block of Cooch Behar district, the sources said.

Police soon reached the spot and rescued the duo. Both of them have been detained for interrogation.

The sources said a number of incidents of cattle lifting had been reported in the past few weeks at Bhatpara-Kalirdanga village in Padamati 2 panchayat.

Sarat Ghosh, who owns the goats, spoke in similar terms. He said he had left the two goats near a tea plantation for grazing but after some time, he came to know that two people were trying to drag the animals into their car.

“We stopped the two persons and managed to rescue the goats. Police arrived and took the duo away,” said Ghosh.

The police said a fire engine from Maynaguri was brought to douse the flames. The vehicle was almost gutted.

The police assured the local people of proper vigil in the area to prevent cattle lifting but asked them to refrain from assaulting any person out of suspicion.

“The duo have been brought to the police station. We are talking to them to know why they had been to the village and were dragging the goats into their vehicle. The damaged car has been shifted from the location,” said a police officer.