HYDERABAD, Dec 18: An official of the education department was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday to six years of imprisonment in two separate cases of corruption.

The sentence was awarded by the judge of the accountability court, Ali Akbar Dodani.

The sub-divisional education officer (SDEO), Sehwan, Abdul Qadir Sehar, is still absconding.

He was sentenced to undergo three years each in the two cases.

The court had also ordered to confiscate the property of the SDEO on Oct 23.

The cases were lodged by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) for embezzling funds between Jan 1997 and June 1999.

The SDEO, who also owned a private school in Dadu, had drawn over Rs12 million in the name of ghost teachers in primary schools.