UP Economic Offences Wing Revamped

• 05 Aug 2025

Why in News?

The Uttar Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has undergone significant restructuring to enhance its capabilities, taking inspiration from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

• The new measures focus on adopting advanced technological tools, accelerating investigations, and improving public accessibility to report financial crimes.

Key Reforms and Measures

• Enhanced Public Access: A major reform allows citizens easy access to report financial crimes.
  • The state’s emergency helpline, 112, has been integrated with EOW to enable the public to report cases such as Ponzi scheme fraud, Stamp fraud, Multi-marketing fraud, etc.
• Professional Expertise and Training: The EOW aims to become a robust and trusted institution for both enforcement and public outreach.
  • To enhance the professionalism of its officers, a day-long workshop was organized with experts from agencies like the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and other central agencies.
  • The focus of the workshop was to educate on various forms of financial crimes, address investigation nuances,  and tackle emerging challenges in financial crime enforcement.
• Public Awareness and Education: A core part of EOW’s strategy is public awareness.
  • The agency has created eight animated booklets in both digital and print formats to educate citizens about various financial crimes they may encounter and how to stay vigilant and protected.
  • A short film on financial crime prevention was also launched to engage the public, along with a new EOW logo.
• Technological Upgrades: The EOW is now equipped with cutting-edge tools to streamline operations, including 24x7 Case Management Software (CMS) for real-time case monitoring and faster resolution.

Economic Offences Wing (EOW)

• The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) was created in 1970 within the CID to address economic crimes, with an expanded focus in 1972 to include offenses related to 10 government departments.
  • In 1977, EOW was restructured as a separate, specialized investigation branch of the Uttar Pradesh Police.
• In 2006, the EOW's jurisdiction was further broadened to include the investigation and inquiry of economic offenses across all government departments.
• In 2018, the government established four police stations within EOW sectors in Lucknow, Varanasi, Meerut, and Kanpur.
• The EOW is led by the D.G. EOW, with its headquarters in Lucknow, is divided into five sectors, each managed by an officer of SP rank.