Bengaluru: In what is being reported as a case of mistaken identity, a police sub-inspector attached to Doddaballapura Town Police Station and two of his colleagues were attacked by villagers after they mistook them to be kidnappers.

Sub-Inspector Yeshwanth Kuma suffered fractures while his colleagues had a narrow escape when they identified themselves in the nick of time.

Kumar was investigating a robbery and was on the lookout for a gang member. Based on a tip off that the suspect was spotted with his son on the outskirts of Vishawanathpura, Kumar, and his two colleagues, set off in pursuit. The trio were in mufti (plain clothes), which led to the confusion.

Suspecting trouble, the suspect escaped, leaving his 12-year-old son behind. The police, who rescued the boy from a field, were escorting him back to his house. The suspect meanwhile ran back to the village and raised a false alarm that his son had been kidnapped by three men.

The rumour spread and around 15 villagers charged at the police on their two-wheelers. Kumar tried to stop the bikers, but sustained injuries. The other two identified themselves as policemen.