The Chandigarh Police have registered a case against the management of FIITJEE centre in Sector 35 that shut down operations earlier this year, leaving over 200 students in the lurch midway amid preparation for competitive exams.
₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore of advance fees submitted for long-term coaching programmes is stuck following the abrupt closure of the FIITJEE centre. (Keshav Singh/HT)” title=”Students and their parents allege that ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore of advance fees submitted for long-term coaching programmes is stuck following the abrupt closure of the FIITJEE centre. (Keshav Singh/HT)” />Students and their parents allege that ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore of advance fees submitted for long-term coaching programmes is stuck following the abrupt closure of the centre.
The FIR, registered under Sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (4) (cheating) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), names three senior functionaries of the institute — DK Goyal (chairman), Manish Anand (chief operating officer) and Rajiv Babar.
The primary complaint was filed by Deepak Chaudhary, a resident of Phase 1, Mohali, who enrolled his son in FIITJEE’s four-year “Pinnacle Programme” in 2022.
The programme was designed to provide coaching from Class 9 to 12 for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Chaudhary alleged that he paid the complete fees in advance — over ₹2 lakh — using a combination of current and post-dated cheques, issued from his wife’s account with Punjab National Bank.
Chaudhary alleged that while the coaching was delivered in 2023 and 2024 for Classes 9 and 10, things took a turn in late 2024. In September, reports surfaced in the media alleging that FIITJEE faculty across Delhi NCR had not received their salaries.
Although the Sector 35 management initially denied any disruption, by January 2025, multiple FIITJEE centres across the country — particularly in Delhi-NCR — began closing without prior notice.
Chaudhary, along with other parents, visited the Sector 35 centre on January 25, only to be informed by the centre head, Rajpal, and other staff that the Chandigarh branch would also be closing down.
Upon requesting a refund for the remaining period (2025–2027), which amounted to ₹1,21,750, the institute failed to respond or offer any resolution. Consequently, Chaudhary issued stop-payment instructions for the two remaining post-dated cheques.
The complainant described the incident as a “clear case of cheating, fraud and misappropriation of funds,” also citing mental harassment caused to his family. He urged the police to register an FIR and freeze the centre’s bank accounts to prevent further financial damage.
Multiple complaints surface across tricity
Following Chaudhary’s complaint dated February 9, 2025, submitted to the senior superintendent of police, 12 additional complaints were received via Chandigarh Police’s Integrated Complaint Management System portal from various affected parents.
The complainants include Udaybir Singh and Goraj Singh from CSIO Colony, Sector 30; Varender Singh from Sector 39/C; Snehangshu Dutta from Panchkula; Deepak Aggarwal from Sector 35A; Rakesh Kumar from Sector 30/A; Sourabh Kumar Suman from Sector 47; Deepak Kumar Jindal from Phase-7, Mohali; Pushpa Rani from Saini Vihar, Baltana; Rajeev Kumar from Sunam, Punjab; Dr Verinder Kumar from Panjab University, Sector 14 and Sandeep Sood from Sector 79, Mohali.
All complaints echoed similar grievances — fees taken in advance for coaching services that were never delivered or were abruptly halted. Several parents alleged that despite requests, no refund was processed and communication from the institute ceased altogether.
After a preliminary inquiry by local police officials, the complaints were found to be credible. Upon approval from senior officers, the police registered a formal FIR against the institute’s management.
The digital records of all 13 complaints have been clubbed into the investigation file. Police sources confirmed that legal action has been initiated and further steps, including summoning of the accused and inquiry into the financial records of the FIITJEE Sector 35 branch, are underway. Authorities are also considering freezing the bank accounts associated with the centre to secure the remaining funds, if any.
With more than 200 students reportedly affected in the tricity region alone, police anticipate additional complaints to be registered in the coming weeks.
“The centre had not paid salaries for the past 13 months, yet we were instructed to continue running operations. In February, we were forced to shut it down as it became impossible to manage without any financial support,” said a former centre head, requesting anonymity.
HT reached out to FIITJEE management, but no response was immediately available.
Nationwide closures, ₹206-crore fraud unearthed by ED
From January 2025 onwards, multiple FIITJEE centres in cities like Chandigarh, Noida, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Bhopal and others shut down without prior notice, disrupting the academic plans of thousands of students.
Digging deeper, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month uncovered an alleged fraud of over ₹206 crore at FIITJEE, wherein the money was collected from students but the educational services were not delivered, before the coaching institute abruptly shut down 32 centres, leaving students stranded and faculty unpaid.
According to the ED statement released, the collected funds were “diverted for personal and unauthorised use” by FIITJEE’s management while “faculty salaries remained unpaid,” triggering multiple complaints across several cities.
In April, ED seized cash worth ₹10 lakh and jewellery valued at ₹4.89 crore during searches conducted at seven locations across Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon, targeting both residential and official premises of the institute’s top management.
According to the ED statement, the institute amassed ₹250.2 crore from 14,411 students across four academic years spanning 2025-26 to 2028-29, before abruptly shutting down.