The Delhi Police has registered a case against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Atul Johri for allegedly passing lewd remarks and harassing female students, who were pursuing PhD under him. A 26-year-old PhD scholar had also written an email to Johri regarding his 'mannerless' behaviour after which she had gone missing on March 12. She was traced on Thursday.

DCP South-West, Milind Mahadeo Dumbre confirmed that a case was registered on Thursday following the complaint by female students at JNU. "We have registered a case under the relevant sections. We will soon ask professor Johri to join the probe(sic)," said Dumbre.

The students had earlier alleged that the police was not registering a case against the professor. Johri had on Thursday refuted the allegations and said that he had only asked absentee students to attend the class.

In their complaint, the students alleged that Johri, a professor at the School of Life Sciences, would often demand sexual favours and pass lewd remarks about the"figure" of female students. They also alleged that if denied the same, he would threaten the students of ruining their PhD career. "He has allowed many girls, who are not students but on contractual position, to illegally stay in the Human Resources Development Center and often visits them at odd hours," stated the group of women in the complaint.

The allegations come a day after the 26-year-old missing PhD scholar was traced back. The student, in an email to Johri, had called him characterless and mannerless. The woman, enrolled under the Integrated MPhil and PhD course, was pursuing the same under Johri.

In an email to the professor, the girl said, "I am leaving your so-called prestigious lab just because you are a characterless person and you do not have manners, how to talk to girls and you have a particular pattern by which you make every girl feel that she is worthless and you are a kind of Baba of Life Sciences, so hard luck."

"There are so many incidents that provoked me to take such a step, but I was waiting for the right time to write this letter and after one year I got this opportunity. And I pray to god that your daughters should also face the same situation in every field of life than at least you realise a pain of a girl(sic)."