Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered a criminal case against a Hyderabad-based private firm and its directors for allegedly siphoning off several crores of rupees deducted from employees' salaries towards provident fund (PF) contributions.
Based on a complaint by Alugubelly Anusha Reddy, enforcement officer at the employees' provident fund organisation (EPFO), Sangareddy regional office, EOW police booked a case against Energetic People and its directors, Sharath Bhushan Samaleti and Satish Reddy Chintapalli, under Sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 316(5) (Criminal breach of trust by a public servant, banker, merchant or agent) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on Feb 16.
The complainant alleged that the company did not deposit statutory PF deductions for thousands of workers. The establishment, operating from Kavuri Hills, allegedly violated the EPF Scheme, 1952, which makes the monthly remittance of the deducted employee share mandatory.
In Jan, a former employee of the company, Rohit Kumar Sharma, lodged a complaint with the EPFO alleging that PF contributions were deducted from his salary, but they have not been remitted to EPFO.
Acting on his complaint, EPFO officials scrutinised salary records of the company and found that the firm deducted Rs 11,903 from Sharma's salary between June and Dec 2025 but did not credit it to the EPF. "Further examination of the Aug 2025 payment register revealed deductions for 24,997 employees amounting to Rs 3.4 crore, while contributions were remitted for only 292 employees, amounting to Rs 4.38 lakh. Hence, it is found that the employer has deducted the employees' share of PF contributions for Aug 2025, amounting to about Rs 3.3 crore, but failed to remit the same to the statutory fund, in contravention of Paragraph 38(1) of EPF Scheme, 1952," the complainant alleged.
According to EOW officials, failure to deposit deducted contributions constituted misappropriation of entrusted funds. "We suspect that the company could be in default for EPF remittances of over 20,000 employees dating back to June 2025. The liability could be larger. We are analysing the evidence and the company representatives will also be questioned. Based on the findings, appropriate legal action will be initiated," said an EOW official.
He has been reporting crime, courts, politics, transport, and civ...
Read MoreHe has been reporting crime, courts, politics, transport, and civic issues for 18 years. Currently working for The Times of India as an Assistant Editor in Hyderabad. He has worked with the Delhi-NCR edition of the Times of India in the past. He has also have audio-visual media and research experience.
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