Where Are Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar’s Parents? Cops Launch Manhunt

Mumbai:

The parents of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who faces allegations of using fake certificates to claim relaxation in the civil service selection process, cannot be reached.

Manorama Khedkar, Ms Khedkar’s mother and sarpanch of a Maharashtra village, is facing an Arms Act case after a video showed her brandishing a pistol during an argument. Her husband and Puja Khedkar’s father Dilip Khedkar, who is a retired Maharashtra government officer, is a co-accused in the case.

When police visited their home in connection with the probe, they did not find the couple. Three teams have now been formed to track them down. The teams are looking for them in Mumbai, Pune and Ahmednagar. Police said they have not been cooperating in the probe.

The video featuring Manorama Khedkar surfaced amid the row over her daughter’s misuse of power and alleged irregularities in her selection for civil service. The video showed Manorama Khedkar, sarpanch of Bhalgaon village, threatening some people with the gun, reportedly over a land dispute. After the video went viral, a case was registered and Manorama Khedkar asked why she was misusing the licensed firearm.

To add to Khedkars’ troubles, the Pune civic body has issued a notice to Manorama Khedkar, asking her to remove “unauthorised structures” next to their bungalow’s boundary wall within a week.

How It All Began

On June 24, Pune collector Dr Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik about the many demands of Puja Khedkar, a trainee IAS officer of the 2023 batch. Ms Khedkar, he said, had been demanding a separate cabin, a car, residential quarters and a peon before she joined work at the collectorate. The collector pointed out that she is on a two-year probation and is not entitled to these benefits. Ms Khedkar was also accused of removing the nameplate of a senior official at the collector’s office when he was on leave. Amid the row, Ms Khedkar was transferred to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector. On the day she took charge, she told the media that she is not authorised to comment on the allegations against her.

Tip Of Iceberg

The Pune Collector’s letter and the transfer started a series of big revelations about the young trainee IAS officer. The trainee officer, it emerged, had been using a red-blue beacon on her private Audi car. She was also accused of misusing the UPSC’s relaxations for candidates with disabilities, and from the OBC category. It also came to the fore that the UPSC had challenged her appointment before the Central Administrative Tribunal and her selected was suspended. However, she was later granted appointment under the OBC and Multiple Disability categories. Questions are now also being raised on why the UPSC made a U-turn on its earlier stand. The Centre has now formed a single-member committee to probe the matter.

Father’s Defence

Before he became unreachable, Puja Khedkar’s father Dilip told a TV channel that she had done nothing illegal. He stressed that Puja belongs to the non-creamy layer of OBC. A person with a family income of more than Rs 8 lakh per annum is considered to be from the creamy layer and is not eligible for reservation benefits.

Even if a person with limited means owns 4-5 acres of land, the valuation might show he is worth several crores, Dilip Khedkar said. “The classification as creamy-layer depends on income rather than (property) valuation,” he added.

Responding to the allegations that the 34-year-old trainee officer used a private luxury car with a VIP number plate and red-blue beacon, he said she had taken permission. “She used the luxury car for official work because no government vehicle was available. She did that with proper permission from her seniors in the administration,” he said.