FIIT-JEE official booked in Rs 4 crore cheating case after Chennai branch shuts

CHENNAI: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai Police registered a case against officials and directors of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala branches of the private coaching institute FIIT-JEE, following allegations of large-scale cheating.The case pertains to the sudden closure of a FIIT-JEE branch in a school in the city, which left more than 140 parents in distress after paying hefty fees for their children’s coaching.Ankur Jain, an official of the FIIT-JEE group, along with several directors were accused of cheating parents to the tune of over Rs 4 crore.The complaint, filed with the Chennai Police Commissioner’s Office, claims that the institution entered into agreements with various private schools and collected lakhs of rupees from parents for integrated training programmes.According to preliminary investigation, the closures were triggered by the freezing of bank accounts at FIIT-JEE's Delhi headquarters, which rendered the institution unable to pay salaries to its teaching staff.Police sources confirmed that the case was registered under relevant sections for cheating and criminal breach of trust.The impact of the closures is reportedly being felt in other parts of the country as well, where similar FIIT-JEE centres ceased operations without prior notice.Currently, six FIIT-JEE centres continue to operate in 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.