JEE coaching centre downs shutters, 4 crore cheating case registered

Chennai: The chairman and directors of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala branches of private coaching institute FIIT-JEE have been booked for cheating parents and students of more than 4 crore. At least 140 parents had complained to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Chennai police saying the FIIT-JEE branch in Kilpauk had shut without warning after collecting a hefty fee from them.
Ankur Jain, chairman of the FIIT-JEE group, along with several directors of the company, besides those manning the Kilpauk centre, have been cited as the accused in the 4 crore scam. The parents in their complaint said the institute had entered into agreements with various private schools and collected lakhs of rupees from each parent for integrated JEE training programmes.

The controversy erupted after the abrupt shutdown of the Kilpauk centre, prompting parents to seek police intervention. According to preliminary investigation, the closures were triggered by freezing of bank accounts at FIIT-JEE's Delhi headquarters, which made the institution unable to pay salaries to its staff.
Police said they have registered a case for offences such as cheating and criminal breach of trust. The impact of the closures is being felt in other parts of the country as well, where FIIT-JEE centres ceased operations without prior notice.
Currently, six FIIT-JEE centres operate across Tamil Nadu, including in Chennai and Coimbatore. Investigations are underway to determine the scale of the alleged fraud and the involvement of other associated branches.