A dentist and his friend were assaulted by a group of men in the Sevoke More area here in broad daylight on Monday.

Sources said Mainak Mukherjee, the dentist residing in Rajani Bagan off Hill Cart Road, and Santosh Dey were on the way to a salon when the duo came across a person being beaten up on suspicion of theft.

When Mukherjee urged the group to stop the assault and hand over the person to police, the attackers turned on him and roughed up him and Dey.

Dey later filed a complaint at the Siliguri police station. “They attacked us with iron rods, wires, and sharp blade-like weapons. They tried to stab Mukherjee, and when I tried to intervene, I was also assaulted. We suffered several injuries,” he said in the complaint.

Dey said the mob threatened them with dire consequences.

Some residents came to their aid after hearing their cries for help and took them to a nearby hospital.

“The attackers have threatened the doctor that they will burn down his clinic and residence,” said the complainant.