SANGHAR, June 1: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated an inquiry into the misappropriation of examination fees collected by 62 colleges in the province.

These colleges include the People’s Medical College, Nawabshah, and Liaquat Medical College (now Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences), Jamshoro.

The FIA is conducting the inquiry from academic year 1990 to 2001.

The misappropriated amount is estimated between Rs1.5 billion to Rs2 billion.

Sources told Dawn that college staff, bank employees and people from educational boards and Sindh University were involved in the scam. They had been keeping forged slips and receipts in the accounts.

The sources disclosed that only that amount was properly accounted which was deposited by candidates directly in banks and almost all the amount deposited in colleges had been pocketed by corrupt elements in colleges.

The FIA has sought record pertaining to number of students admitted for examination, fees collected per student, total amount and cheque numbers etc. from all colleges in Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Dadu districts.

It may be recalled that in past, too inquiries were conducted in the education department for misappropriation of millions of rupees but no action was taken against the culprits.

MAN KILLED: A man was shot dead in Chaman Das village in the jurisdiction of Perumal police station, some 65 km from here, on late Friday night.

The victim, Mehmood Khoso, was Kamdar of landlord Nand Kumar Goklani and had left the job some eight months ago and shifted to Matiari.

He had come to the village to extend marriage invitations to his old friends and while he was asleep at the Autaq of Nand Kumar, Hadi Sangrasi and Ahmed allegedly shot him dead by firing at him with a pistol and shotgun.

The Perumal police arrested both the accused and recovered the weapons used in the crime.

Insiders said some sodomy matter was behind the murder.

ARRESTED: The Sanghar police arrested two car and bike lifters, Zahid Hussain and Mohammad Khan, and recovered two motorcycles from their possession.

The police also nabbed Ghulam Mohammad, wanted in an attempt to murder case.

The Tando Adam police arrested two absconders, Qarar Lakho and Mashooq, wanted in dacoity and robbery cases.

The Shahdadpur police arrested Noor Mohammad Bhatti, wanted in theft cases.

COMPENSATION: The transporters have demanded compensation for the vehicles which were impounded by the local administration for Gen Pervez Musharraf’s 13th April public address at Sanghar.

They said their vehicles were impounded for several days and only small amount for fuel had been paid to some transporters but no charges regarding the fare were paid.

They further said that most of the vehicles had been bought on instalments and the requisition of the vehicles for the referendum had misbalanced their budgets.

CHALLANED: As many as 80 persons have been challaned and a fine of Rs15000 has been recovered from them for keeping grey partridge in cages without license.

INJURED: Haider Mallah was seriously injured in a dispute over catching fish in Tadahri Lake near Hathungu in the jurisdiction of the Khipro police station.