Climb First SCAM: PAN-INDIA SWINDLE: Coaching class inquiry reveals 200 crore con

Mumbai: It started with a cheating complaint lodged last month by an IAS aspirant. It has now grown into an iceberg with 14 cases registered this month in the city, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Indore and Baroda against the director and employees of Climb First Education for duping
thousands of students across India of at least Rs 200 crore since 2011.

The police think the coaching class swindle may even cross the Rs 500-crore mark as the number of complaints is likely to rise across India.

The police said the accused made false promises of preparing students for entrance exams for civil services, management studies and higher education abroad. They said more than 11,000 students, including 1,100 from the city, were cheated.

Climb First Education director Manish Vargia (36), HR personnel Samuel Indgiri (26), manager Rohan Madiyar (27) and service provider Satyam Yadav (26) were arrested on March 28, by officers of the Powai police station after a complaint from Ghatkopar resident Mayur Chalke (22).

The four were also wanted by other police stations in the city and elsewhere. After their police custody got over on April 5, they were handed over to the Amboli police and then to the Azad Maidan police.

Now they are in the custody of the Pune police.

“The Ahmedabad police have alerting us that Vargia and his aides are wanted there in over a dozen cases,” assistant police inspector S N Bhandge of the Powai police station said. “They said the gang had duped over 11,000 students of anything between Rs 200 crore and Rs 500 crore.”
Courtesy:
V Narayan TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/04/25&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00800&ViewMode=HTML

Now Navi Mumbai students fall prey to Climb First Education

The institute, now defunct, collected tuition fees in lakhs from students in Navi Mumbai and ran away. They are wanted by police in Azad Maidan, Borivli, D.N. Nagar and Pune

A coaching institute in Navi Mumbai which used to prepare students for entrance examinations suddenly packed up and closed one day without informing their students, leaving them stranded after having paid a huge fees.

Vashi police will soon take into custody four management level officials of Climb First Education, a now defunct institute, for having duped at least 13 students from Navi Mumbai.

The four accused, who were earlier arrested by the Powai police, have been booked by the Vashi police for promising to prepare students to write entrance exams for civil services, management studies and higher education abroad, but disappearing after collecting the fees. At present, 13 students have approached the police, but the number is expected to rise.

“We booked four persons from Climb First Foundation when Rakesh Roy, victim and resident of Kharghar, registered a complaint after the Vashi branch of the institute closed in the first week of April without prior notice. The four accused are currently in Powai police custody for a similar incident in Mumbai,” said a Vashi police official yesterday.

He added that once the investigation of the Powai police is complete, the Vashi police would take them into custody. The institute had opened a branch at Vashi railway station complex where, according to nearby offices, some five to ten students come every day to check if the institute is opened or not.

“Students come and ask the whereabouts of the officials of the institute and say that they have paid huge sum of money and the institute is closed,” said a security guard stationed next to the institute’s office.

The four accused have been identified as Manish Vargia (36), director of Climb First Foundation; Samuel Indgiri (26), HR personnel; Rohan Madiyar (27), Manager; and Satyam Yadav (26), service provider and have been booked under sections 403, 420 and 34 of the IPC by the Vashi police.

According to the police, the four accused are also wanted by the police in Azad Maidan, Borivli, D.N. Nagar and Pune. The police said that the gang, which advertised through social networking sites and phone-a-dial services, allegedly took Rs.30,000 to Rs.95,000 from each student for admissions.

“I have paid Rs.80,000 for civil services preparations and I have not even attended two weeks’ classes and the institute is closed. They promised, before admission, that senior IPS officers would give lectures,” laments a student.
Courtesy:
Friday, April 26, 2013
By Amit Srivastav
http://www.afternoondc.in/city-news/now-navi-mumbai-students-fall-prey-to-climb-first-education/article_81186