Economic offence cell to book people causing loss to govt

PATNA: An Economic Offence Cell (EOC) under direct control of DGP Abhayanand, has been constituted at the state police headquarters to investigate cases of economic offence by the general public involved in misappropriation and misuse of government money and for confiscation of their property on conviction order passed by the court.

The EOC to be headed by IG, economic offence, Praveen Vashishth would comprise of a DIG (economic offence), SP (food) and SP (economic offence/cyber crime), 10 DSPs, 32 police inspectors, 72 SIs, two programmers, nine havildars and 10 other personnel. Their special training would be held at the CBI Training Centre at Ghaziabad.

The EOC will control the investigation of such economic offence cases by the district police and provide guidance to them to improve the quality of investigation of these cases. The food cell and cyber crime cell and cooperative cell of the police headquarters would be under this EOC, said Abhayanand.

The EOC would be located at the Biscomaun building here. It will apply the provisions of Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1944, which was enacted by the colonial British government to nab economic offenders among the general public, the DGP told TOI.

Abhayanand said that the cell is 'unique' in the sense that it will launch proceedings for confiscation of property of the public who would be found to have caused loss to the government by their involvement in misappropriation and misuse of funds.

The Special Court Act enacted by the government has brought into its net only the government servants involved in misappropriation of government money and on their conviction by the Special Court for confiscation of immovable property of the government official, he said.

He said that the provisions of this Act is being applied by the CBI to nab the general public people causing loss to government. The DGP said that the provision of this 1944 law was never applied at least in the state of Bihar.

The DGP said that he and some other IPS officials, who have been included in the cell, had while in the CBI learnt the use of Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1944, to investigate the cases of economic offence by the public. Now, use of this law for investigation and confiscation of property of the general public involved in causing huge economic loss to the government would be started.

With improvement in the economic situation in Bihar, there has been immense change in the nature of economic offences in the state, he said, adding that the total benefit of the welfare schemes were not reaching the target groups in the society. There is every possibility of misappropriation and misuse of government money during implementation of welfare schemes, he said.