Who Are Garima Bhatnagar and Varsha Sharma? Two Women IPS Officers Get Key Roles in Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing
The latest reshuffle of senior officers in the Delhi Police has brought two experienced women IPS officers into important positions in the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Garima Bhatnagar, a 1994-batch AGMUT cadre officer, will continue as Special Commissioner of Police, EOW, while also taking additional charge as Managing Director of the Delhi Police Housing Corporation Limited (DPHCL). Varsha Sharma, a 2010-batch AGMUT officer, has returned to the national capital from Goa and has been appointed Additional Commissioner of Police, EOW.
The appointments are part of a larger reshuffle involving 43 IPS and DANIPS officers in the Delhi Police. The changes come at a time when economic and financial crimes are becoming increasingly complicated, with investigations often involving large-scale fraud, investment schemes, corporate disputes, real estate transactions and alleged financial misconduct across multiple jurisdictions.
The decision to place two experienced women officers in key positions within the EOW is particularly notable given the specialised nature of the unit. While Bhatnagar brings more than three decades of experience in policing, administration, intelligence and international peacekeeping, Sharma comes with a varied field background covering Delhi, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa.
Garima Bhatnagar Continues as Special CP, EOW
Garima Bhatnagar is a 1994-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre and has built a long career across several important policing and administrative assignments. She has already been heading the Economic Offences Wing as Special Commissioner of Police, a position she took charge of in July 2025.
The latest reshuffle does not move her out of the EOW. Instead, she has been retained in the specialised unit and given an additional responsibility as Managing Director of the Delhi Police Housing Corporation Limited.
The combination of the two assignments gives Bhatnagar responsibilities in both policing and police administration. She has previously served in senior positions including Special Commissioner of Police, Provisioning, besides handling the EOW and other important responsibilities within Delhi Police.
Over the course of her career, she has risen to the rank of Director General of Police in the AGMUT cadre and has worked across areas requiring both operational and administrative leadership.
More Than Three Decades in the Police Service
Bhatnagar’s career stands out for its breadth. From senior Delhi Police assignments to international responsibilities, she has worked in different areas of law enforcement and public administration.
Her experience has included policing, intelligence-related responsibilities, organisational management and international peacekeeping. This range of assignments has given her exposure to challenges that extend well beyond conventional law-and-order policing.
Her latest continuation in the EOW therefore comes with considerable institutional experience. The unit deals with cases where investigations can involve complicated financial transactions, corporate structures, large numbers of victims and substantial documentation, requiring both investigative expertise and administrative oversight.
Bhatnagar’s United Nations Assignment
One of the most distinctive chapters in Bhatnagar’s career was her international assignment with the United Nations. She served in New York as Chief of the Mission Management and Support Section in the Department of Peace Operations.
Her work at the UN involved mission management and support functions connected with international peacekeeping operations. The assignment gave her exposure to multinational security and administrative systems and added an international dimension to an already wide-ranging policing career.
Bhatnagar has also been associated with efforts to encourage greater participation of women in international peacekeeping and peace processes. Her UN experience remains one of the more notable aspects of her professional journey.
In recognition of her service, she has received the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, one of the country’s important honours for distinguished contributions to public service.
Varsha Sharma Returns to Delhi
The second officer to take up a major EOW assignment is Varsha Sharma, a 2010-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT cadre. Sharma has been transferred back to Delhi from Goa and appointed Additional Commissioner of Police in the Economic Offences Wing.
Her return to the national capital marks another significant stage in a career that has included assignments in both metropolitan policing and specialised security environments.
Before returning to Delhi, Sharma was serving as DIGP, Range, Goa Police. Her experience in Goa involved responsibilities at the range level, giving her exposure to policing across multiple districts and operational areas.
Her earlier assignments in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also provided her with experience in coastal and marine security, an area that requires a different policing approach because of the islands’ geographical and strategic significance.
Early Career in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Sharma’s professional journey includes important assignments in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where she served as Superintendent of Police and also handled the responsibility of SP, Marine Police.
Her work there involved policing and coastal security responsibilities. The island territory’s strategic location makes maritime surveillance and security an important part of law enforcement, and Sharma’s assignment exposed her to these specialised challenges.
She was also associated with Ex-Sea Vigil 22, a major coastal security exercise. For her contribution to coastal security and efforts to strengthen the security network, she received a commendation from the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
The experience added a specialised dimension to her policing career before she moved into senior assignments in Delhi and later Goa.
From South District DCP to Senior Assignment in Goa
Sharma’s Delhi career included a significant field posting as DCP, South District, in 2023. The assignment placed her in charge of policing in one of the capital’s major districts and involved responsibilities covering law and order, crime prevention, investigation and public safety.
She subsequently moved up through senior ranks in the AGMUT cadre, eventually taking on responsibilities at the DIG and Additional Commissioner level.
In late 2024, she was transferred to Goa, where she assumed charge as DIGP, Range. The posting gave her another opportunity to work in a different policing environment before her latest transfer brought her back to Delhi.
Her return to the capital now places her in a specialised investigative wing rather than a conventional district or range command.
Service Recognition for Varsha Sharma
Sharma’s career has also been marked by service recognitions. She has received the Police Medal for Meritorious Service, along with other commendations for her contribution to policing and public safety.
Her varied experience across island policing, coastal security, district policing and senior supervisory responsibilities provides a broad operational background for her new EOW assignment.
The shift from range-level policing in Goa to economic crime investigations in Delhi represents a different professional challenge. EOW investigations often require detailed scrutiny of financial records, corporate documents, property transactions and banking trails, in addition to conventional police investigation.
Why the Economic Offences Wing Assignment Matters
The Economic Offences Wing is one of Delhi Police’s specialised investigative units and handles cases involving complex financial and economic offences.
Its work can include investigations into bank fraud, investment scams, corporate cheating, criminal breach of trust, property-related fraud and other financial offences. Such cases can involve multiple accused persons, complicated corporate structures, substantial amounts of money and victims spread across different locations.
Investigators may have to examine extensive financial documentation and follow money trails across bank accounts, companies and properties. In several cases, economic crime investigations also require coordination with other government agencies and regulatory bodies.
Depending on the nature of a case, the EOW can interact with institutions and agencies such as the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.
That makes leadership within the unit particularly important. Economic offences can be technically demanding and often require investigators to combine traditional policing methods with financial analysis and regulatory knowledge.
Two Senior Women Officers at Important EOW Levels
The latest arrangement gives the EOW two officers with substantially different but complementary professional backgrounds.
Bhatnagar, the senior officer, continues to serve as Special Commissioner of Police, EOW, while also taking charge as Managing Director of DPHCL. Her extensive experience in senior policing, administration and international peacekeeping adds considerable institutional depth to the unit.
Sharma, meanwhile, joins as Additional Commissioner of Police, EOW, bringing experience from Delhi district policing, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa. Her operational background could be particularly relevant to the investigative and supervisory responsibilities associated with the post.
Their appointments are therefore more than routine transfers within the Delhi Police establishment. They place two experienced women officers at important levels of a specialised wing that deals with increasingly sophisticated forms of financial crime.
Part of a Wider Delhi Police Reshuffle
The appointments of Bhatnagar and Sharma are part of a much larger reshuffle involving 43 IPS and DANIPS officers. The exercise has brought changes across several important branches of Delhi Police, including Traffic, Vigilance, Special Branch, Crime, Intelligence and district policing.
The reshuffle comes as Delhi Police continues to adapt its organisational structure to changing law-and-order requirements and emerging forms of crime.
For the Economic Offences Wing, the latest appointments bring continuity at the top while adding another experienced officer to its senior supervisory structure. With Bhatnagar continuing as Special CP and Sharma joining as Additional CP, the unit now has two senior women IPS officers overseeing important layers of its operations.
Their professional journeys are quite different, but both have built careers across challenging assignments. Bhatnagar brings a long record of senior-level policing and international experience, while Sharma adds field experience from Delhi, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa. Their new responsibilities in the EOW could therefore become an important part of the next phase of Delhi Police’s response to increasingly complex economic and financial crimes.
