HYDERABAD, Oct 25: The FIA Crime Circle, Hyderabad, has re- initiated inquiry against some senior officials of the Sindh University, Jamshoro, allegedly involving a scam of around Rs 12 million.
The FIA had reportedly written a letter on October 20 to the Registrar of the university asking him to furnish personal details concerning a number of senior university officials.
Sources said that the FIA has decided to probe into the scam on two different counts. The inquiry was stopped last year in June after the question of Commercial Banking Circle jurisdiction arose. Interim challan of the case has already been submitted before the court of Special Judge Anti-Corruption (Central).
The decision to bifurcate the case was taken in the light of registration of a fresh case by Commercial Bank Circle of the FIA, Karachi, against some employees of the Habib Bank, Sindh University Branch.
The inquiry into the scam is related to the bungling of millions of rupees by the officials of Sindh University in collusion with the HBL and the BISE officials.
Sources said that senior officials of the Sindh University and the HBL have somehow managed to save their skins notwithstanding the fact that overwhelming evidence had been collected against them by the FIA Crime Circle.
Not much is known about the inquiry that was conducted by the university under the chairmanship of Dr Mohammad Yusuf of the zoology department. However, the findings were duly placed before the University Syndicate.
Similarly, there were no reports whether any action has been taken against the corrupt university officials or not.
The FIA has also called for details about payment of admission fees; stock register; tender register with record for the last five years concerning various faculties; work order and supply orders, advance register and personnel registers for the last five years.
The investigating officer of the FIA, sources claimed, also wanted to know about the present postings or status of Bashir Ahmed Sheikh, the then director finance, Mahmood-ul-Hassan Soomro and Ali Nawaz Palejo, controller of examination.
The record and information in question is yet to be provided to the FIA. Details about M/s Nawab Brothers that supplied computer hardware to the university has also been sought by the FIA.
Sources claimed that the financial malpractices that have been committed by the HBL, University Branch, officials would be investigated by the Commercial Bank Circle of the FIA.
However, Deputy Director Commercial Circle, Karachi, S.M Shujaat could not be contacted for further details on Thursday.
Earlier, the FIA Crime Circle had recommended to the deputy director FIA, Hyderabad, for registration of cases against Sindh University officials — Controller of Examination Ali Nawaz Palejo, former director admissions Mushtaq Ahmed Qureshi, then director finance Bashir Ahmed Sheikh, Ghulam Hussain Shaikh, auditor, staff of admission, examination, finance and store departments and officials of the concerned bank branches of the university for causing a loss of around Rs 12 million.
The scam came to fore when an inquiry was referred to the FIA Hyderabad by the Federal Education Ministry. Deputy Educational Advisor, Mohammad Siddique Mashori, through his office memorandum No F-10-29/99-FS/II sent the case to the FIA Hyderabad for inquiry.
A case (crime No 4/2000 u/s 409, 468, 471, 109 PPC R/W sec 5(2) Act-II,1947) has duly been lodged.
The Federal Ministry of Education received some forged degrees and certificates, issued from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and the Sindh University. Some embassies of Muslim countries had forwarded these degrees and certificates to the ministry for verification.
During preliminary investigation last year the investigating officials came to know that officials of University of Sindh and concerned bank branches were also involved in the racket involving millions of rupees which were misappropriated through the issuance of bogus bank deposit slips.
With the passage of time, the scope of investigation kept on widening and finally it netted the university and the HBL officials.
Sindh Governor, who is also chancellor of the university, had also taken notice of the embezzlement issue.
It was learnt that a number of accused have obtained pre- arrest bails from the Special Judge Anti Corruption (Central). Two of the accused, Khalil-ur-Rehman and Fatima Zehra are absconding.
The FIA claimed that the university had suffered a loss of Rs 38,18,445 in 1996, Rs 99,44,808 in 1997 and Rs 2,27,36,272 in 1998 due to corruption and forgery on behalf of the officials of examination department in collusion with HBL employees.
The FIA detected a difference of Rs 4,72,29,053 when two separate figures, provided by the admission and finance departments were tallied under the head of foreign exchange, describing issuance of bogus deposit slips.
The FIA did not absolve then director finance, Bashir Ahmed Sheikh and auditor Ghulam Hussain Shaikh of their responsibilities with the observation that they had deliberately caused financial loss in millions of rupees to the national exchequer. Financial irregularities also came to fore in the Audit Report of 1997-98 pertaining to outstanding dues on the part of different contractors, in purchase of store articles in the absence of tender and payment to contractors without documentation on account of construction work in the campus. It calculated that amount to the tune of Rs 4,09,34,621.