On Tuesday morning, as thousands of Class 10 students across the country walked into examination halls for their CBSE Mathematics paper, 11 students in Gurgaon stayed back at home. Their admit cards never arrived, as their school, Educrest International School at Sector 9 B, was not affiliated to the Board.
On Wednesday, based on a complaint filed by the father of one of the 11 students, the Sector 9A police station booked school Chairperson Vinay Kataria, Principal Riddhima Kataria, Vice-Principal Nidhi Batra and Coordinator Sonia on charges including cheating and criminal breach of trust.
In the complaint, the man has alleged that as the examination approached, students had reportedly been asking about their admit cards. However, they were allegedly repeatedly assured that the cards would be issued just before the exam.
A day before the exam, the man said he visited the school with his daughter, but the management allegedly refused to hand over the admit card, saying it would be sent home later.
The admit card did not arrive despite repeated calls, he alleged. He allegedly returned to the school at night and met the chairman, principal, vice-principal and coordinator. According to him, they said no admit card would be issued and that his daughter would miss at least one paper.
It was then that he checked the official CBSE portal, only to find that the school was neither affiliated to CBSE nor recognised to teach students of Class 10. The registration number of the school was also found to be invalid.
According to police, the Education department has informed them that the school had a licence to only teach students up to Class 8. The department has sent a notice to the school seeking an explanation for running higher classes without approval, said officers.
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Speaking to The Indian Express, the complainant alleged that the school made arrangements for 14 Class 10 students to write their CBSE exams by registering them with schools in Delhi, Palwal and Ballabgarh.
“There has been no communication from the school since the FIR was lodged, and we have no hope that our daughter will be able to write her remaining papers. They have played with the future of the students,” he said.
“We met the District Education Officer (DEO) on Tuesday. She acknowledged the fraud played on us…,” he added.
When contacted, Gurgaon DEO Indu Boken said, “Records indicate that from Class 9, Educrest students were registered with the CBSE through various schools in Delhi. Further, the school has not submitted the full list of Class 10 candidates (registered with other schools) to the department yet.”
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Police said they have also written to the Education department and CBSE to seek clarity on whether the affected students can appear for the remaining examinations. “Verification of documents will take some time. The students have another paper (English) on Saturday. We have written to the Education department and CBSE and are awaiting clarity… if they can appear for the remaining papers. Prima facie, it does appear the children have been cheated,” said Sector 9A SHO Inspector Sunil Kumar.
While calls to the school and its chairperson went unanswered, the other accused said they would cooperate with the police. “Whatever we have to say, we will tell the police,” the principal said.
“We will make all necessary clarifications. This is all we wish to say now,” the vice-principal added.
Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana.
Education
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020)
- B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019)
Professional Experience
Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features.
Reporting Interests
His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon.
Recent Coverage (2025)
- Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025).
- Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025).
- Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025).
- Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram.
- Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025).
- Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025).
Contact
X (Twitter): @AB_Hazardous ... Read More
