With each passing day, trouble for controversial IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, whose district training programme in Maharashtra has been put on hold, seems to be growing as new revelations come to the fore.
Last week, Khedkar was transferred to Washim district in Vidarbha after Pune district collector Suhas Divase requested her transfer to avoid administrative conflicts. However, on July 16, a letter by Nitin Gadre, Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, said that Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy had decided to put Khedkar’s district training programme on hold and immediately recalled her for further necessary action.
The government has also constituted a single-member committee to probe her claims and allegations made against her.
Initially, Khedkar refused to comment on the row. However, on Monday, she said that she would accept the decision of the committee.
The trainee officer said the Constitution is based on the fact ‘innocent until proven guilty’, and added, "Proving me guilty by media trial is wrong."
Now, fresh allegations surfaced that the officer used different names and manipulated age to take the UPSC exam.
Puja Khedkar, who was posted as an assistant collector in Pune, was availing facilities to which trainee officers are not entitled. The Audi car driven by Puja, which was registered in the name of a private company, used a red-blue beacon. The officer also installed a ‘Maharashtra Government’ board on the private car. The photos of the vehicle went viral and brought her into the limelight. The car also has 21 challans pending and fines of ₹26,000.
Police have said that using beacons on private cars is a violation of traffic rules.
Puja Khedkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer, is accused of using fraudulent means to clear exams. She is accused of misrepresenting herself under the physical disabilities and other backward class (OBC) categories.
The IAS trainee had reportedly submitted several medical certificates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). One of the certificates was indicating visual impairment, under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) provision.
However, Khedkar had submitted a fitness certificate while securing admission to a private medical college in 2007.
Dr Arvind Bhore, director of the Kashibai Navale Medical College in Pune, told ABP Majha that the medical fitness certificate submitted by Puja Khedkar had no mention of any disability, whether physical or mental, when she joined the college in 2007.
Puja Khedkar is also accused of misusing her office while being posted in Pune. She allegedly occupied the ante-chamber of Additional Collector Ajay More without permission. She is also accused of removing office furniture and requesting unauthorised facilities. In fact, in the WhatsApp chat she had with the collector's office, she had demanded a cabin and staff even before joining, to ‘plan things accordingly’.
According to reports, her father, Dilip Khedkar, a former Maharashtra government employee who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections on the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi ticket, had exerted pressure on the District Collector's office to fulfil his daughter's demands.
In May, Puja Khedkar had allegedly tried to pressure a DCP-ranked officer to release a man held in a theft case at Panvel police station. The Navi Mumbai police have reported the incident to the Maharashtra government. However, since it was not confirmed if Khedkar herself had called, even though she had identified herself during the phone call, the accused was not released.
While Puja is already facing flak, an old video of her mother, Manorama Khedkar, brandishing a gun while arguing with a farmer over a land dispute also went viral. Whereas, when the police went to their residence in Pune, she also did not let them inside and reportedly threatened them. Police have now launched a man-hunt for the officer's parents.
While the probe into allegations made against her is underway, reports said that there have been discrepancies in the name and age of Puja Khedkar as per her Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) application. A report by a Marathi newspaper, Sakal, has raised questions about whether she appeared for the exam exceeding limits. As per the rule, candidates from the general category can appear for the exam a maximum of six times, and those from OBC and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) can appear nine times. As per the report, till 2020-21, Puja Khedkar took the exam using the name – Puja Diliprao Khedkar. However, in 2021-22, after all the attempts, she reportedly gave two more attempts using the name ‘Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’.
According to Times Now, as per documents, in 2020, her age was stated as 30. However, in 2023, it was listed as 31.
Vijay Kumbhar, a Pune-based RTI activist who raised questions about Khedkar's appointment, on July 15 said Puja Khedkar's disability certificate was rejected at District Civil Hospital, Aundh, Pune. Despite having multiple disability certificates, she sought one for locomotor disability.
In a post on X, Kumbhar claimed that Khedkar has a ration card registered to a private limited company's address. “Ration card is not proof of residence. She applied for disability certificates at YCM Hospital & District Hospital, Aundh, using two different addresses. The car she used as an IAS officer belongs to Thermoverita Company. She applied on 23/08/2022 at Aundh Hospital and received it the next day from YCM,” said the activist.
