Zero-Balance Accounts Suddenly Awash with Cash in AP, Telangana

Nearly 2.5 lakh zero balance accounts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were stashed with unaccounted money.

Due to the recent demonetisation of higher value notes, people in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are finding new ways to escape the system.

Telangana has witnessed a sudden decrease in the number of zero-balance accounts of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna from 26 lakh to 23.6 lakh. Nearly 2.5 lakh accounts were suddenly awash with cash to keep unaccounted money.

In Andhra Pradesh, the number of zero-balance accounts decreased from 19.5 lakhs to 17.3 lakhs.

After the announcement of demonetisation on 8 November, the zero-balance accounts dropped drastically in both the states after banks reopened on 10 and 11 November.

Due to this sudden inflow of cash, finance minister Arun Jaitley has promised an inquiry into the matter.

We cannot attribute every account to parking black money. The one reason for decrease in zero-balance accounts may be because no one has the option to exchange currency except depositing in bank account. However, what raises suspicion are deposits beyond Rs 10,000, which is normally not the case among these sections.

Bank official 

The normal deposits ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5000 have recently increased. Following this, the RBI has alerted all banks to monitor transactions in these accounts stating they are vulnerable to fraud.

One of the officials said that they have alerted the higher-ups and approached police who are investigating the matter.

In another case, Saroornagar police have booked two employees of Syndicate Bank. Radhika, a cashier, and Mallesh, a clerk, for allegedly exchanging Rs 6 lakh demonetised notes without furnishing an ID proof.

Syndicate Bank's Kamala Nagar branch manager, Narsaiah, lodged a complaint in Saroornagar police station on Sunday alleging two colleagues in his bank had exchanged the demonetised currency without furnishing any proof of the customer on Saturday, during an internal audit.

According to RBI guidelines, an individual can exchange only Rs 4,000 demonetised cash on a single day by furnishing a government-issued ID proof like Aadhaar or PAN card.

“After the suspension, Mallesh returned Rs 5.6 lakh new currency to the bank, which he had got from Radhika,” Saroornagar inspector S Lingaiah said.