More trouble for FIITJEE: Police get fresh complaints against its South Delhi centre
The Kalu Sarai centre is among the prominent ones of the chain
3 min read
The coaching institute chain, which has 72 centres across the country, has been in trouble after several centres in major cities shut down recently amid alleged financial turmoil (Express Archive)Fresh complaints have been received against FIITJEE, a coaching institute chain that prepares students for competitive exams, from parents of students enrolled at its Kalu Sarai centre in South Delhi, police said Saturday.
The coaching institute chain, which has 72 centres across the country, has been in trouble after several centres in major cities shut down recently amid alleged financial turmoil and non-payment of salaries to staff.
“We received 20 complaints seeking action against the FIITJEE centre in Malviya Nagar’s Kalu Sarai. After a primary inquiry, they have been forwarded to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police,” a police officer said, adding that the complaints received from Malviya Nagar would be merged with the FIR filed by the EOW.
The Kalu Sarai centre is among the prominent ones of the chain.
On March 12, the EOW registered a cheating case against FIITJEE after receiving 192 complaints from parents of students who studied at its Preet Vihar centre in East Delhi. The centre shut down in mid-January.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Nishant Garg, a parent and a complainant, claimed he had paid Rs 1 lakh to the Kalu Sarai centre in September last year but later found the centre was not paying salaries to its staff and classes might not take place.
“… We then approached the administration, asking for our money back, but they said it could not be refunded,” Garg, who works in a private company as an assistant general manager, claimed.
“I paid Rs 1 lakh in September and later gave a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the centre. After requesting the bank, I have now put the cheque on hold,” he said.
The FIR was registered under sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at EOW police station, as the complaints had started coming in since 2022.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code of India, came into effect on July 1, 2024, replacing the IPC.
The EOW started a probe after it received around 35 complaints in February, which has now gone up to 192, said police.
“These complaints were initially filed with the local police in East Delhi and later forwarded to the EOW, as the amount was suspected to be big and needed a thorough investigation,” an officer said.
In a statement earlier, FIITJEE had said the “present turmoil is temporary”. “Company officials are working to resume operations at all places within a reasonable time,” it added. It had also blamed managing partners for the financial crisis that led to the closure of several centres.
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