Police case filed against Bengaluru school for taking admission fee without approvals
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The Bengaluru police on Tuesday registered an FIR against a school after a parent alleged that admission fees were collected by falsely claiming the institution had the required government approvals and affiliations.
According to the complaint filed at the Sarjapur police station, P Indu, a 35-year-old resident of Gunjur, said she approached Euro School on Gunjur Road on November 8 to seek admission for her seven-year-old daughter to Class 2. She stated that she paid ₹1,000 as an application fee and submitted the required form.
Indu alleged that both the school counsellor and the principal assured her that the institution had obtained all necessary licences and permissions. However, when she asked to verify the documents, she was allegedly told they would be shown only after the admission fee was paid.
Trusting these assurances, she said she transferred ₹25,000 online on the same day, but the school did not subsequently provide any proof of authorisation, Indian Express reported.
She further claimed that she approached the local Block Education Officer (BEO) and the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), but no immediate action followed despite her complaints.
Vivekananda M, DDPI of Bengaluru South, said he examined the complaint and instructed the police to register an FIR. He stated that the school had not obtained the mandatory permissions from the education department and added that the Anekal BEO had been asked to submit a detailed report.
Guru Murthy, Anekal DDPI, said an inspection revealed that the school lacked approval to operate. He added that officials had directed the institution to stop admissions and remove signboards, and that the department had also filed a police complaint in addition to the one lodged by the parent.
Attempts by The Indian Express to contact the Euro School management were unsuccessful. Calls to the admissions section reportedly yielded no contact details for the principal.
Police officials noted that many private schools in Bengaluru had begun issuing admission applications from October last year. An officer said the complainant was anxious about her child’s education being disrupted and confirmed that notices had been issued to the school authorities, directing them to appear before the police with relevant documents.
The Sarjapur police registered the case under Section 33 (registration of a recognised educational institution) of the Karnataka Education Act and Section 318 (4) [cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property or valuable security] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).