Students on Monday boycotted exams and protested in front of a government college near Sirkazhi, demanding the removal of a professor whom they accused of sexual harassment.

“Any kind of misconduct with students is unacceptable. We resorted to the protest only after our pleas went unheard. Still, the college management is safeguarding the teacher,” said B Vignesh Sharma, a representative of the Students’ Federation of India, which led the hour-long demonstration at Government Arts and Science College in Puthur.

A protester alleged that the professor used to misbehave with female students and make them uncomfortable by discussing "out-of-context" topics in class and claimed that this had driven one of his students to attempt suicide.

"He kept harassing them despite our raising concerns with the principal,” a student told Express, adding that the principal had been replaced by a new one weeks ago.

While the principal was not available for comment despite repeated attempts to contact her, a police official said the police could not initiate action unless the students lodged a case.

Sources said that the district administration was probing the allegations against the faculty member.