₹800 crore go missing from AP government employees’ accounts

VIJAYAWADA: State government employees got a rude shock on Tuesday when they realised that their GPF amounts have been withdrawn from their accounts without their knowledge.

Strangely, contrary to the earlier practice, employees did not even get the customary SMS alert about the withdrawal.

Agitated, AP Government Employees Association state president K.R. Suryanarayana has threatened to lodge a police complaint, underlining that it is an offense to withdraw money from employees’ accounts without their consent.

Suryanarayana alleged that in all, ₹800 crore have been withdrawn from GPF accounts of total 90,000 employees in an unauthorised manner. “How can the accountant general (AG), who is the custodian of GPF funds, allow such illegal withdrawals,” the employees’ leader asked.

Inquiries reveal that the AG had uploaded the annual statements of GPF accounts on Monday night. When employees downloaded them on Tuesday, to their utter shock, they found that certain amounts had been withdrawn from their accounts by authorities concerned.

Suryanarayana confessed that ₹83,000 had been withdrawn from his own GPF account. Many employees have informed him about such withdrawals. He alleged that when they inquired, none of the agencies concerned, including finance department and CFMS, could explain how these withdrawals took place.

The employees’ leader said they are going to lodge a police complaint in this regard.