NEET coaching centre owner had not obtained permission to run girls’ hostel: T.N. Social Welfare Dept.

Jalaludeen Ahmed, a NEET trainer from Kerala who established JAL NEET Academy in Tirunelveli, was booked by the Tirunelveli city police on charges of beating students with a cane and hurling footwear at girl students

The owner of the private NEET coaching centre in Tirunelveli, who was accused of caning students recently, had not obtained permission to run a girls’ hostel on the campus, said officials from the Tamil Nadu Social Welfare Department here on Saturday (October 19, 2024). They said a show cause notice had been served on him.

Jalaludeen Ahmed, a NEET trainer from Kerala who established JAL NEET Academy in Tirunelveli, was booked by the Tirunelveli city police on Friday (October 19, 2024) on charges of beating students with a cane and hurling footwear at girl students.

The CCTV footage of the incident was released by a former employee of the coaching centre, Ameer Hussain of Thazhaioothu, who had lodged a complaint with the Melapalayam police. Based on the video, the Melapalayam police filed cases under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and other Acts.

In the wake of the incident, a team led by Social Welfare Department official Thanshika Begum, Palayamkottai Tahsildar Isaivani, and others inspected the NEET coaching centre on Saturday.

They interacted with some of the girl students staying on the campus and undergoing NEET coaching. The officials found that amenities at the centre were not up to the mark and that the owner had violated several rules. For instance, he had not obtained a mandatory licence from the government and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the authorities concerned to run the hostel.

Members from the Child Protection Committee also visited the hostel and informed the authorities concerned about the needs of the inmates.

Police personnel from the Melapalayam police station and senior police officials interviewed the students and collected their details, including their addresses. A senior officer said they were on the lookout for the accused who is currently on the run.

Meanwhile, activists in Tirunelveli appealed to the State government to take stock of such “illegally” operating centres across Tamil Nadu and seal them. “Under the guise of coaching, the trainer had harassed the students after charging hefty sums from their parents as fees. The students, especially the girls, should be given proper counselling by trained experts as they were under stress,” an activist said.

Published - October 19, 2024 05:34 pm IST