SUKKUR, March 23: Charges were framed on Friday against the Ghotki police officials, accused of killing six villagers, after eight years.

The case was taken up in the court of the second senior civil judge and judicial magistrate, Pano Aqil.

According to the complainant, Ghulam Nabi Mochi, the Ghotki police had arrested six villagers — Nazir Ahmed Mochi, Soomar Mochi, Piral Indhar, Latif Mirani, Mumtaz Lashari and Iqbal Lashari — from Pano Aqil and adjoining areas, on Nov 11, 1994. They were given in the custody of the Kot Sabzal police station after 13 days of torture, he added.

The complainant also contended that they had been killed in a fake encounter, adding that their dead bodies had been buried at an unknown place.

On the directives of the Sindh High Court, Baiji police had registered a case against the SHO of the above mentioned police station, Hamza Ali Sehto, sub-inspector Abbas Kolachi, ASI Abdul Samad, sub-inspector Shabbir Ahmed Chandio and Din Mohammed Kolachi. But after registering the case, the police had not arrested any of the accused while the challan of the case was not presented in the court despite being ordered by the Sukkur bench of the SHC.

After a delay of eight years, the police challaned the case in the court of the second senior civil judge and judicial magistrate, Pano Aqil, Altaf Hussain Dayo, but the case would be prosecuted in the session court, Sukkur, and its first hearing has been set for March 31.

The police officials, who had been nominated in the FIR, have been promoted: Two of them, Hamza Ali Sehto and Abbas Kolachi, were promoted as DSPs; inspector Abdul Samad is working as the in-charge of the investigation wing at the Rohri police station; Din Mohammed was promoted as an inspector while the fifth accused Bashir Ahmed Chandio is reported to have died.

FRAUD: The FIA has unearthed a fraud of Rs2.5 million in the United Bank Limited, Barrage Road branch, Sukkur.

A team of the FIA, Karachi, and some officials of the FIA, Sukkur, on Saturday arrested the manager of the UBL, Karim Bukhsh, and shifted him to Karachi for investigation.

A client, Ahmad Ali Shah, had informed the FIA the manager had withdrawn money from his account through forged signatures and chequebook.

Later, the bank authorities, after checking the record, found Rs2.5 million had been withdrawn from 15 accounts through forged signatures.