The local people heckled the woman but she was rescued by police (Representational)

A woman was allegedly assaulted by a mob comprising mostly of women in West Bengal's Birbhum district who accused her of blackmailing a man for having an affair with her, police said on Saturday.

The man committed suicide by consuming poison on Thursday. Before dying the man told his wife that the woman was blackmailing him and demanding a huge amount of money from him for having an affair with her, the police said.

When the body of the man was brought to Khujutipara village under Nanoor police station on Friday, a mob caught hold of the woman and assaulted her and ripped her clothes before she was rescued by the police.

"When the body was brought to the village, local people became agitated alleging that due to the affair with the woman the man committed suicide. The local people heckled the woman but she was rescued by the police," senior police official Shyam Singh said.