Fake CBSE Affiliation Row: Gurugram school principal arrested after students miss board exams

More than a month after Gurugram Police arrested the chairman of a private school for allegedly defrauding students by showing them fake CBSE accreditation up to Class 10, the principal of the school has now been arrested in the same case. The action followed an FIR filed by the parents of a Class 10 student against the principal, directors and others connected to the Educrust International School in Sector 9B, after she was denied an admit card for her board exams, police said on Sunday.

According to police, the principal, Riddhima Kataria from Basai village, fled to Gujarat after the FIR was lodged, from where she has now been arrested. The matter first came to light on February 17 when 11 Class 10 students missed their CBSE mathematics board examination after not receiving admit cards, police said. A case was registered against the management of the school on February 18, they said.

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In his complaint, the father of the Class 10 student alleged that the school management defrauded his daughter by not issuing her an admit card despite regularly charging various fees. The complainant alleged that at the time of admission, the school management claimed to be CBSE-accredited and even showed an accreditation certificate and registration number. But the registration number shown was also incorrect, a lapse that cost his daughter a year besides jeopardising her future, the complainant said.

Many parents of Class 10 students also alleged that the school management falsely claimed to be CBSE-accredited, but when their children did not receive admit cards for the board exams, it was found that the school was not accredited by the CBSE up to the tenth grade. Based on the complaints, police booked school chairman Vinay Kataria, principal Riddhima Kataria, vice principal Simar Batra, coordinator Sonia and other staff members under the relevant sections of the BNS.

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Kataria was arrested from Bilaspur in the district on March 6, police said. During interrogation, Kataria revealed that he had been running the school for the past eight years, which was accredited by the CBSE up to the eighth grade only, a spokesperson for Gurugram police had said last month. He showed a fake Class 10 accreditation to 25 students and enrolled them in classes 9 and 10, the spokesperson said.