Coaching institute dupes JEE students of Rs 3 crore in Thane city; 8 officials booked

Thane: Police on Tuesday said they have registered a criminal case against eight officials of a coaching institute for allegedly cheating students preparing for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) of more than Rs 3 crore in Thane city.

Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sandeep Chavan of the Thane Nagar police station said the case was registered on Monday after some of the students filed a complaint against the institute which has branches in different parts of the country.

The institute collected a sum of Rs 3,20,00,000 from the JEE students since January 2024 and abruptly closed shop and classes, and misused the collected fees, he said, quoting the complaint.

JEE is a national-level entrance examination conducted for admission to various engineering colleges.

The institute collected the fees in different bank accounts from the victims. The accused named in the FIR threatened the students when they approached them for a refund and to seek reasons for not holding classes, said Chavan.

So far, around 80 victims have been identified, but their actual number may be more, he said, adding a probe was underway.

The accused include officials from Thane, Mumbai and Delhi branches of the institute and they were booked under sections 318(4) (cheating), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) read with 3(5) (a criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all) of the new criminal code BNS, the police said.