"Regret To Inform...": Trainee IAS Officer's Disability Request Was Denied

Puja Khedkar - the trainee IAS officer facing allegations of lying about mental and visual infirmities to qualify for the Civil Services, and then abusing her position - applied for a disability certificate from Pune in August 2022 but was shot down by doctors who examined her and said "it is not possible".

"Please refer to your application dated 23/08/2022 for issue (of) disability certificate for following disability: Locomotor Disability (which can refer to cerebral palsy or a condition affecting bones or muscles that could restrict movement of the legs or arms)..." Pune's Aundh Hospital told her.

"... you have been examined by the undersigned / Medical Board on 11/10/2022 and I / We regret to inform that... it is not possible to issue a disability certificate in your favour," she was told in a letter.

A copy of the letter to Ms Khedkar has been accessed by NDTV.

This was the second time Ms Khedkar attempted to secure such a medical certificate.

The Aundh hospital rejected her application but a hospital in Pipri issued the certificate.

The Pipri hospital diagnosed Ms Khedkar with an "old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability". The hospital said she has a "permanent disability in relation to her left lower LMB as the seven per cent guidelines for the purpose of assessing the degree of specified disability..."

Certificate For Medical College In 2007

It has also emerged she submitted a certificate while applying to a private medical college in 2007.

"She took admission in 2007... she got admission through CET (Common Entrance Test), where she gave some certificates of reservation... She submitted the caste certificate, caste validity and non-creamy layer certificate, and also certificate of medical fitness, which did not mention any disability," Arvind Bhore, the Director of the Shrimati Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital, told news agency ANI.

"Am Sure Truth Will Come Out"

The 34-year-old Ms Khedkar responded strongly this evening.

"The media trial proving me guilty is wrong," she told reporters.

READ | "Proving Me Guilty By Media Trial Wrong": Trainee IAS Officer Khedkar

"Our Constitution is based on 'innocent till proven guilty'. So, media trial proving me guilty is wrong. It is the basic right of everyone. You can say it is alleged but proving me guilty like this is wrong," she said.

Puja Khedkar Disability Certificates, Siren On Car

A 2023-batch officer from Ahmednagar, Ms Khedkar made headlines (for all the wrong reasons) last week after reports she lied about her mental and visual condition to secure an officer's post despite an unremarkable score in the ultra-competitive qualifying exam. She submitted certificates that were allegedly obtained fraudulently from the District Civil Hospital in Ahmednagar.

READ | Trainee IAS Officer, Who Used Siren On Her Car, Claimed Mental Disability

Last week it emerged Ms Khedkar, while going through the selection process for an IAS post, had refused, six times, to undergo a mandatory medical test to confirm her disabilities.

Reports said the first test had been scheduled at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences for April 2022. She skipped this claiming to have tested positive for COVID-19.

READ | 'Please Get It Done Before I Join...': Puja Khedkar's Messages

Two appointments for the following month were also skipped, as were those in July and August. And she only half-attended a sixth in September; she did not appear for a MRI test to assess vision loss.

It is unclear how, or why, she was appointed if she, in fact, declined to appear for the examination.

Having secured that post - Assistant Collector for Pune district - she then reportedly wheedled her into perks like a siren, or beacon, for her private vehicle (a luxury Audi sedan) and a 'Government of Maharashtra' sticker for the car. None of these perks are permitted for on-probation officers.

On the question of the red beacon, Pune Police said they will take action.

She may have also tried to persuade cops to release a family member arrested on suspicion of theft.

READ | IAS Trainee Officer Wanted Cops To Release Theft-Accused Man

Ms Khedkar is now being investigated by a one-member panel and will be sacked if found guilty.

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

Puja Khedkar's Parents On The Run

Meanwhile, Ms Khedkar's family are now in the middle of a controversy of their own.

READ | Police Action After Old Video Of Puja Khedkar's Mother Waving Gun

Her mother, Manorama Khedkar, who is a village sarpanch, is facing an Arms Act case after a video showed her brandishing a pistol during an argument. Ms Khedkar's father, Dilip Khedkar, a retired state government officer who may have helped her secure the post and perks, is a co-accused.

Ms Khedkar is in Washim as a Supernumerary Assistant Collector. She has refused to comment on the charges against her or her family, insisting "government rules forbid me from speaking".

However, the father and mother are both missing.

READ | Where Are Trainee IAS Puja Khedkar's Parents? Cops Launch Manhunt

Before he became unreachable, Mr Khedkar claimed his daughter had done nothing illegal and stressed she belongs to the non-creamy layer of OBCs. 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.

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