Bengaluru-based ed-tech firm accused of cheating students in Maharashtra

Nagpur: MIDC police here has registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against a Bengaluru-based ed-tech firm for allegedly duping 16 students of Rs 37.6 lakh. Gaurav Shrivastava (39), the complainant, applied for a data science architect programme course offered by the company last September, said an official.

He was told that he would need to pay a fee of Rs 2.78 lakh and can obtain a loan from the firm’s finance partner. The company also told him that he would get a stipend, and if he did not get a job within 24 months after the completion of the course, it would repay the loan, the complaint said.

But later he was provided a personal loan at a higher rate of interest instead of an educational loan, and the company then abruptly stopped the course as well as the payment of stipend, Shrivastava said. The finance company which had sanctioned loan to him and 15 other students was now pressurising them to pay EMIs, the complaint said.

Further probe is on, the police official said.