With the latest findings, the total cases of fraud in admission in the varsity rose to 160. Earlier, 76 such cases were detected by a university probe committee.

"We have identified 80 cases of fraud at the department after scrutinising the documents of all students excluding the masters and the first year students of 2006-2007 sessions," Muhammad Azhar Zafer Shah, assistant professor of IR department and the convenor of the department probe committee, said.

Professor Abdul Hakim Sarker, director of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research, said that they have discovered four such cases in the 2005-2006 sessions at the institute.

Reports on the findings of the department and the institute may be submitted to the university probe committee headed by Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pro-VC) Prof AFM Yusuf Haider in its meeting tomorrow.

IR department sources alleged that the dean office and the admission section of administrative building are not cooperating with the department's committee as they are not providing the admission papers of two suspected students, whose guardians might be influential.

The university probe committee was formed on October 10, 2006 in the wake of allegations of inconsistencies in the admission papers of 11 students of 2004-2005 sessions of public administration department.

The committee found 30 fake admission cases in the public administration, economics and international relations departments in 2004-2005 sessions and submitted a report to the syndicate. The committee later found 46 more such cases.

Suspecting more cases of fraud in admission, the deans of all faculties and directors of all institutions were directed on March 15 to check the students' admission papers and submit reports within a month.

The latest findings at IR department and social welfare institute were the outcome of that direction.

The university probe committee found involvement of two consultancy firms with the admission fraud and sent their names to the law enforcement agencies for taking legal actions, sources said but they did not the disclose the names of the firms for the sake of investigation.

The university authorities sent show-cause notices to the 76 students of different sessions identified to have followed fraudulent process in admission asking why their studentship will not be cancelled. Only three of them have responded so far, although the deadline has expired, the sources said.

The probe committee sources strongly felt that the chairmen, directors and other officials of departments and institutes concerned cannot avoid the blame of negligence in discharging their duties.

"Either they were aware of the fraud, which could bring serious consequences to them, or they had neglected their duties," one probe committee source said.

The university authorities suspended Mokhlesur Rahman, deputy registrar (admission) and Yunus Akhand, section officer of public administration department for their involvement in the admission fraud racket.

Expressing grave concern over the situation, a number of teachers said that the authorities should initiate steps to identify such cases at faculties of business administration and sciences, as there are equal possibilities of fraud in admission. These faculties are yet to take any steps despite the directives from the authorities.

"The probe committee is taking the fraud in admission with due importance and wants to identify all involved with the malpractice," probe committee convenor Prof Yusuf Haider said.