Mumbai:

Manorama Khedkar, trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s mother, has been charged with attempt to murder in connection with a video in which she was seen brandishing a firearm and threatening a group of villagers. She was sent to two days’ police custody after she was produced in court following her arrest this morning. 

Manorama Khedkar, who was on the run for days, was arrested this morning. Police have said she was hiding in a lodge at Mahad in Pune district after police started looking for her in connection with the viral video. The video showed her threatening some villagers, reportedly over a land dispute.

She has been charged under the Arms Act for brandishing her licenced weapon and relevant sections of the new criminal code, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita. Now, the attempt of murder charge has been added.

“Manorama Khedkar was apprehended from Mahad in Raigad district and she was brought to Pune where, after the completion of formalities, she was placed under arrest,” Pune Rural SP Pankaj Deshmukh has said.

In court, Manorama Khedkar’s lawyer said she has an arms licence. To this, the government lawyer said firearm licences are issued for self-defence. “In this case, she had security with her. There was no chance of an attack by the complainant.”

The video featuring Manorama Khedkar emerged amid the row surrounding her 34-year-old daughter. A senior’s complaint against Puja Khedkar for alleged demands of perks she was not entitled to set off in motion a chain of events that led to shocking revelations. Questions were also raised over how she cleared the tough selection process for UPSC. She was found to have availed of relaxation for physical disability and OBC candidacy, but allegations of her not being eligible for such relaxation surfaced.

Her two-year training has now been put on hold, and her selection into the IAS is being probed by a panel formed by the Centre.

Puja Khedkar’s father has also come under the radar after an investigation into his assets began. The retired Maharashtra government officer, it was found, was suspended twice on corruption charges after businessmen accused him of extortion.

New Delhi:

The training of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has been put on hold amid allegations of misuse of power and privileges. Ms Khedkar has been recalled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie for “further necessary action”. Ms Khedkar was earlier transferred to Washim from Pune following accusations of manipulating disability and OBC certificates to gain entry into the civil services.

The General Administration Department of the Maharashtra government issued a directive stating, “You are hereby relieved from the District Training Programme of the State Government of Maharashtra.” The directive instructs Ms Khedkar to “join the academy at the earliest” but not later than July 23.

Ms Khedkar, a 2023-batch officer from Ahmednagar, claims to be the victim of a “media trial” alleging that a misinformation campaign has been waged against her.

The authenticity of various certificates submitted by Ms Khedkar to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is currently under investigation. These include certificates indicating visual impairment, which Ms Khedkar submitted under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category.

Despite being referred by the UPSC for a medical examination at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ms Khedkar reportedly missed six appointments between April and August 2022. In August 2022, she applied for another disability certificate from the Aundh government hospital in Pune, but her application was rejected following medical tests.

Ms Khedkar’s troubles began when she was accused of demanding unauthorised perks and facilities while serving as an assistant collector in Pune. Allegations include using a red beacon and a “Government of Maharashtra” sticker on her private Audi car, occupying the office of Pune Additional Collector Ajay More during his absence, and demanding office furniture, letterheads, a VIP number plate, a separate house, and a car. These perks are typically unavailable to probationary officers who are still in their 24-month probationary period.

Following these allegations, Ms Khedkar was transferred from Pune to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector. This move was seen as a temporary measure pending further investigation.

An RTI activist from Pune, Vijay Kumbhar, alleged that Ms Khedkar’s father possessed assets worth Rs 40 crore, which would place the family well above the Rs 8 lakh annual income threshold for any reservation benefits.

Ms Khedkar has stated her willingness to testify before the expert committee, expressing confidence that the truth will emerge. “Whatever my submission is, I will give it in front of the committee and the truth will come out,” she said.

The Pune Police are also investigating Ms Khedkar’s parents in a criminal case involving her mother, Manorama Khedkar, a village sarpanch, who was allegedly seen threatening individuals with a gun over a land dispute in a video. An FIR has been filed against the couple and five others in connection with this incident.

Ms Khedkar has lodged a harassment complaint against Pune district collector Suhas Diwase. According to an official, women police personnel visited Ms Khedkar at her residence in Washim, where she filed the complaint.
 

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.

Pune:

Manorama Khedkar, mother of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, was issued a show cause notice by Pune Police on June 13 over the misuse of a licenced gun.

Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar issued a show cause notice to Puja Khedkar’s mother after Manorama Khedkar, the Sarpanch of Bhalgaon village in Ahmednagar, was seen waving a pistol during a heated argument in a viral video.

A show cause notice issued by Kumar to Pooja Khedkar’s mother, Manorama Khedkar, has been pasted, as no one turned up to receive the notice.

The notice states that Manorama Khedkar has to respond as to why her gun licence should not be cancelled. She has been asked to respond within 10 days.

A case has been registered against her under the Arms Act in the Pune rural police jurisdiction on the complaint of a local farmer who alleged that Manorama Khedkar and others had threatened him.

Following a string of controversies, Puja was recently transferred from Pune to Washim district. The Central Government has set up a committee to investigate these allegations.

Earlier on Saturday, Puja Khedkar refused to comment on the centre setting up a panel to probe her candidature.

Puja Khedkar, who was transferred to Washim from Pune following the allegations, said she was not authorised to speak on this matter.

“I am not authorised to say anything on this matter. I am not permitted to speak on this matter as per government rule,” she said.

The controversy surrounding trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar from the 2023 batch in Maharashtra, has intensified with fresh allegations against her and her family.

Puja is under scrutiny for allegedly abusing her authority and submitting fraudulent disability and caste certificates to qualify for the civil services exam.

She was accused of various corruption cases, including unauthorised use of a vehicle equipped with a beacon light and demanding privileges such as a separate office, official vehicle, and staff, which are not typically granted to trainee officers.

On Thursday, the central government constituted a single-member committee to verify the candidature claims and other details of Khedkar following a controversy over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant.

The Ministry of Personnel announced in a statement, emphasising that the committee is chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary under the Central Government and that it will submit its report in two weeks.

The IAS trainee was also accused of removing the nameplate of a senior official at the Pune collector’s office when he allowed her to use his antechamber as her office.

Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. Reports claimed that she had also submitted a mental illness certificate.

In April 2022, she was asked to report at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate, but she did not do so, citing the COVID infection.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Puja Khedkar – the on-probation IAS officer under scrutiny after allegedly lying about mental and visual disabilities, and her OBC background – to qualify for the Civil Service, now faces a fresh charge.

Navi Mumbai Police submitted a report to the Maharashtra Home Department stating Ms Khedkar pressured the cops into releasing a family member accused of theft, news agency PTI said.

It is believed Ms Khedkar, on May 18, called a Deputy Commissioner of Police and demanded that he release a man suspected of transporting stolen steel. She insisted the man – identified in some reports as Ishwar Uttarwade – was innocent and that the charges against him were “minor”.

Ms Khedkar named herself in the call with the top cop. However, in the report he said he was unsure if the caller was an imposter or who she claimed to be, i.e., a government official.

Either way, the police did not release Uttarwade, who remains in custody.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch officer, had been posted as an Assistant Collector to Pune district.

She was to begin her duties, as a trainee or junior officer, in June.

READ | “Get It Done Before I Join…”: IAS Officer Puja Khedkar’s Chats

However, details have emerged this week of how she may have deceived authorities about medical conditions and her OBC status, as well as prodding her way into perks not meant for new officers.

These included a siren, or beacon, and a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker for her private vehicle, a luxury Audi sedan. On the question of the red beacon, Pune Police said they will take action.

It has also emerged that Ms Khedkar’s Audi, registered to a private company, has 21 pending traffic violation notices. The cops have issued a notice seeking a penalty payment of Rs 27,000.

She was also found using Additional Collector Ajay More’s office while he was away. She reportedly removed office furniture and even demanded letterheads.

Faced with multiple instances of possible abuse of power, the Pune Collector’s office has transferred Ms Khedkar to Washim, where she will be a Supernumerary Assistant Collector. She has refused to comment on the row or her transfer, saying “government rules” forbid her from making statements.

Ms Khedkar now also faces a probe by the central government.

READ | Centre Starts Probe. Puja Khedkar, IAS Trainee, To Be Fired If Guilty

Sources told NDTV she will be sacked if found guilty of lying and may also face criminal charges.

NDTV Explains | Who is Puja Khedkar, What Is the Controversy?

The investigation will be conducted by Manoj Dwivedi, the Additional Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training, and a report is to be submitted within two weeks, sources added.

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