Three men were arrested after a woman filed a complaint alleging that the men had passed lewdremarks at her and beat up her husband after he protested late on Sunday.

The incident allegedly happened when the couple were walking past an immersion ghat off the service road of the airport-bound flank of VIP Road near Sreebhumi, police said.

The arrested trio are from Jagaddal in North 24-Parganas.

The police identified them as Manoj Ragbhor, Ravi Rajbhor and Selim Hasan.

A senior officer in the Bidhannagar commmisionerate said the woman, accompanied by her husband and some neighbours, went to Lake Town police station after the alleged harassment andassault and lodged a complaint.

In her complaint, the woman said she and her husband were walking towards the Ultadanga crossing on Sunday night when they were attacked.

“As they reached the immersion ghat, three men started passing lewd comments at her and made obscene gestures. Her husband was beaten up after he confronted them,” the officer said.

The police took the couple to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the husband was treated for his injuries, the officer said.

All three accused have been charged under Sections 74(use of criminal force or assault against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty) and Section 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

If convicted, they can be sent to jail for up to five years.

“The three accused said they had been hired to set up lights at a Kali Puja pandal in Lake Town’s Michaelnagar,” said an officer at Lake Town police station who questioned them.

“According to the accused, the couple were part of a group sitting near the Michaelnagar pandal. The group got angry when the men started taking down the lights from the pandal. They claimed the group hit them,” the officer said.

“The accused said that when they told the group that they would complain to the police, a few from the group went to Lake Town police station and complained against them instead.”

The officer said they are collecting footage from CCTV cameras installed around the immersion ghat.