FIITJEE Centre Closes, Owners Booked, 200 Students in a Jam

Parents complain around ₹2 crore hanging in balance after Sector-35 centre was shut down abruptly in February

- Naina Mishra

CHANDIGARH: 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.

Students and their parents allege that between ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore of advance fees submitted for long-term coaching programmes is stuck following the abrupt closure of the centre in February.

The FIR, registered under Sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (4) (cheating) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, names three senior functionaries of the institute—DK Goyal (chairman), Manish Anand (chief operating officer) and Rajiv Babar (chief financial officer).

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.