Parents of students throng closed FIITJEE centres in Noida, Ghaziabad

Agra: Parents of students were incensed over an abrupt closure of FIITJEE centres in Noida and Ghaziabad. They went to the firm's institute in Noida's Sector 62 on Saturday, raised slogans against the company and demanded the government's intervention in getting it punished.

FIITJEE founder D K Goyal and 11 other people were booked after several of its centres in Delhi-NCR shut down abruptly, the Noida Police said on Saturday.

Goyal, FIITJEE chief financial officer Rajiv Babbar, chief operating officer Manish Anand and its Greater Noida branch head Ramesh Batlesh have been named in the FIR, a Noida Police spokesperson said.

Mrinal, the father of a Class-11 student, said, "I have deposited more than Rs 3 lakh in fees for my daughter, who took admission for the March session. I submitted the entire fees but suddenly, I got the news that the centre has closed down." "I demand strict action against the company and a refund of the amount," he said.

Alok, the father of a Class-10 student, said he has paid the fees for an entire session for his son.

"My son has board exams but now, this situation has come up. I have paid the entire fees for the course. They are spoiling the next generation's future. We want some response from the institution and the government, so that our money and the future of our children can be saved. We are also planning to take legal action," he said.

Avijit, another parent, said he has deposited Rs 1.5 lakh in advance for the July session.

"They took the fees in advance and now, they have closed the institute. This is very worrying for every parent. There are about 1,500 students here and everyone is in shock," he said.

"To the utter shock and surprise of the parents, they did not even issue any notice or communication regarding the closure," he added.

According to the FIITJEE's website, it runs 73 centres across the country, providing coaching for competitive exams to engineering aspirants.

Citing a complaint from Satsang Kumar, a Greater Noida resident, the police spokesperson said the institute's Sector 62 centre was open till January 21 but was closed an hour before schedule.

Later, it was found that the centre was shut for good.

The police spokesperson said more than 2,000 students studied at the centre.

In Delhi, police launched a probe after more than 250 people accused the FIITJEE's East Delhi centre of fraudulent practices and mismanagement following the coaching institute's abrupt shutdown, sources said.