Puja Khedkar
Credit: X/@DDNewslive
Mumbai: Months after joining the service, controversial Indian Administrative Service (IAS) probationary officer Dr Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar - who hails from an influential family - now faces multiple probes and the series of developments threaten her career as an officer.
Dr Khedkar (32) faces a host of allegations and controversies.
Her parents - Dilip and Manorama Khedkar - now face problems.
Dilip Khedkar is a former Maharashtra government officer, who had allegedly threatened and intimidated government staff.
A video of Manorama Khedkar had surfaced in which she was seen brandishing a pistol while arguing with some people in what appears to be a property dispute issue.
Dilip Khedkar had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Ahmednagar from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi - and in the affidavits submitted to the Election Commission, he had mentioned his wealth is Rs 40 crore while Manorama Khedkar’s assets are around Rs 18 crore.
His daughter secured an All India Rank 821 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in 2022.
Puja got through IAS under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) categories, as she declared herself to be from the non-creamy layer and reportedly cited her visual and mental disabilities.
Dr Khedkar is a MBBS graduate from Pune and specialises as an endocrinologist, according to reports.
The Prime Minister’s Officer (PMO) and the Maharashtra government has taken serious cognisance of the offences and her conduct.
The Centre has constituted a single-member Committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to Government of India to verify the candidature claims and other details of Dr Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination-2022 and earlier CSEs. The committee is to submit a report in two weeks time.
The Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), which trains IAS officers, has sought a report from the Maharashtra government.
Dr Khedkar had not undergone tests at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to prove her PwBD status. The UPSC had challenged the selection of Dr Khedkar in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had ruled against her. However, she still was inducted.
Besides, she does not qualify in the non-creamy layer of OBC category as the applicant's parents' annual income is more than the stipulated Rs 8 lakh.
Pune’s District Collector Dr Suhas Diwase has already sent a report to Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik and Additional Chief Secretary (Services) Nitin Gadre, who heads the General Administration Department (GAD), about her conduct in the Pune Collectorate.
Dr Khedkar had demanded a designated cabin with attached washroom, a car, residential quarters, and a peon for herself - which is generally not given to POs.
She was also found using Additional Collector Ajay More's office while he was away on leave.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar has ordered a probe against Dr Khedkar for the alleged use of blue and red beacon light and putting up a 'Maharashtra Government' insignia on a private car, an Audi with a VIP registration number.
Dr Khedkar’s mother Manorama Khedkar is a Sarpanch of Bhalgaon village in Pathardi tehsil of Ahmednagar. Khedkar’s maternal grandfather, Jagganath Budhavant, was also an IAS officer.
Reports have also surfaced that she allegedly forced Navi Mumbai's Deputy Police Commissioner Vivek Pansare to release a thief, a transporter, who was arrested by Panvel police. However, it could not be independently confirmed.
There were also 21 traffic violation challans against her besides the issue of using the beacon light.