Sharmistha applies medicine on husband Prasenjit Ghosh’s injured eye.

Three students of Kalyani Government Engineering College — Binay Sahu, Biswajit Murmu and Prasanta Majumder — who were arrested on Thursday for sending obscene messages to Prasenjit Ghosh’s wife Sharmistha, were granted bail by the chief judicial magistrate, Howrah, on Friday.

They were booked under Sections 294 (singing obscene songs) and 509 (uttering words or making gestures intended to insult a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.

Three Kalyani Government Engineering College students arrested for harassing Sharmistha being produced in Howrah court. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Police arrested the three after tracing the messages to their cellphones. A booklet of obscene cellphone text smut was also recovered from them.

A show of solidarity for Prasenjit’s family came from Brinda Karat, all-India secretary of the CPM Ganatantrik Mahila Samity. She arrived at the Ghosh household on GT Road at five in the evening.

“There is no question of supporting party loyalists here. This is clearly an incident of torture on a woman and we will never support such harassments. The law shall take its course,” she asserted.

Pledging all possible support to the family, Karat, who was in Howrah to address a district women’s conference, said: “Sharmistha’s case is an insult to womanhood”.

Kanika Ganguly, Bally’s CPM legislator, and Mahila Samity state secretary Shyamali Gupta accompanied Karat.

Prasenjit was beaten up on October 26 by a gang of about 15 CPM activists for protesting his wife’s harassment.

Left Front chairman and CPM state secretary Biman Bose, too, condemned the incident and exhorted the party’s youth wing to campaign against eve-teasing.

Addressing the inaugural function of the DYFI headquarters, Dinesh Majumdar Smriti Bhavan, on AJC Bose Road, on Friday, Bose said: “It is unfortunate that some goons have tarnished the party’s image. This cannot be tolerated and the youth wing has a responsibility to fulfil.”

Recalling an incident on Shakespeare Sarani, where a young girl confronted four youths who were harassing her, Bose said it is not possible for every girl to fight for justice. “I will see to it that our district leadership takes disciplinary and punitive measures against the accused, while the law takes its course,” Bose asserted.