Controversial IAS officer Puja Khedkar may be terminated if found guilty; Centre's probe begins

New Delhi: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is at the centre of a controversy over alleged misuse of power and privileges, may be terminated from service if found guilty, official sources said on Friday.

They said all documents presented by her to secure her candidature in the civil services examination and then for selection in the service will be re-examined by a single-member committee constituted by the Centre on Thursday.

The panel has started its investigation, the sources said.

"The officer may be terminated from the service if found guilty. She may face criminal charges also in case she is found to have misrepresented a fact or done any sort of manipulation in documents relied upon for her selection," a source said.

Khedkar, a 2023 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is under probation and currently posted in her home cadre Maharashtra.

The 34-year-old officer is in the eye of storm over for allegedly misusing the disability and Other Backward Class quota to secure a position in the IAS.

The single-member probe committee of Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, has been asked to submit its report within two weeks, the sources said.

In the meantime, Khedkar on Thursday assumed her new role as assistant collector at the Washim District Collectorate in the Vidarbha region after being transferred from Pune where she allegedly bullied everyone around and also placed a red beacon atop a private Audi (a luxury sedan) car used by her that also had 'Maharashtra Government' written on it.

Khedkar has been under intense scrutiny for allegedly manipulating benefits under the physical disabilities category and OBC quota to secure her position in the Indian Administrative Service.

The controversial officer was shunted out to Washim after Pune district collector Suhas Diwase wrote to state additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre requesting him to consider giving a posting to Khedkar in another district to avoid "administrative complications".

Diwase had sought action against Khedkar for her behaviour, including alleged aggressive treatment of junior staff, illegal occupation of the ante-chamber of additional collector Ajay More, and violations pertaining to sporting a red beacon on the Audi and flashing it during the day, among others.

The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has issued a notice to a private company there, which is the registered owner of the Audi car used by Khedkar.

In a related development, Navi Mumbai police has reported to the Maharashtra government that Khedkar had allegedly tried to pressure a DCP-rank officer to release a man held in a theft case, an official said on Friday.

The incident had occurred on May 18 at Panvel police station wherein Khedkar allegedly phoned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Vivek Pansare and urged him to release a transporter, Ishwar Uttarwade, arrested in a theft case.