Puja Khedkar Row Explained: Charges Against Trainee IAS Officer, Her Family

Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar is facing probes after allegations of misuse of power and false claims in her UPSC candidature surfaced in the last month or so. Besides the IAS officer, who hails from an influential family, her parents -- Dilip and Manorama Khedkar -- are also facing charges. 

'Misuse of power'

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, was posted as an assistant collector in Pune. She courted controversy after the Pune Collector raised a complaint with the Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra government.

It is alleged she was found using a red beacon and a "Government of Maharashtra" sticker on her private Audi car. She also used Pune Additional Collector Ajay More's office while he was away. She reportedly removed office furniture, besides demanding letterheads and a VIP number plate. 

She is also said to have raised demands for a separate house and car -- perks that are unavailable for junior officers on probation for 24 months.

According to reports, her father, who is a retired administrative officer, had also pushed for her demands to be fulfilled.

Manoj Dwivedi, additional secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), has now launched an investigation against her. The probe is expected to be completed in two weeks. If found guilty, she may be dismissed from service, sources said. The police confiscated her Audi recently.

'Fake' disability, OBC certificates

The IAS officer has also been accused of allegedly using fake disability and OBC certificates to clear the civil services exam. She cleared the exam under the Other Backward Class (OBC) and visually impaired categories, besides submitting a mental illness certificate.

A few months ago, her father, Dilip Khedkar, contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and declared property worth ₹40 crore in his election affidavit. However, he recently told a Marathi news channel that his daughter belongs to the non-creamy layer.

In April 2022, Puja was called to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate. However, back then, she did not visit the hospital citing Covid-19 as a reason.

The central government has constituted a single-member committee to re-examine documents submitted by her to secure a seat in the civil services examination and then for IAS selection.

Dilip, Manorama Khedkar 'missing'

Police have registered an FIR against Dilip and Manorama Khedkar besides five others after a viral video showed Manorama allegedly threatening people with a gun over a land dispute.

Besides this, the Pune civic body on Saturday also issued a notice to Manorama and asked her to remove “unauthorised structures” adjacent to the boundary wall of their bungalow within seven days.

"The accused are on the run, we are trying to contact them but they are not reachable as their phones are switched off," Pune Rural SP Pankaj Deshmukh told ANI.

The senior official said the police tried to reach their residence but they remained unavailable. 

"Several teams, including officials from the local crime branch and local police stations, are searching for them in Pune and nearby places where they have some farmhouses and other residences. If found, we will question them and take action accordingly," Deshmukh added.