The Union Government has recently mandated the Pune Police to provide details about the marital status of the parents of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar after new allegations, accusing her of having taken advantage of the OBC non-creamy layer in the UPSC exam by claiming that her parents Mr. Dilip Khedkar (an ex-government employee from Maharashtra) and Mrs. Manorama Khedkar were divorced, surfaced.
In reply, a senior official of the Pune Police confirmed that Ms. Khedkar’s parents’ are indeed divorced and assured the centre that there shall also be an inquiry against the doctors who issued Puja’s hoax disability certificate. Based on the directions of the office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Pune, the Pune Collectorate ordered an inquiry against the doctors of YCM Hospital in Pimpri Chinchwad. The police have also ascertained that there will be an inquiry against the officials who were complicit in Officer Khedkar’s ‘Disability Certificate’ hoax.
Eight Companies Across Maharashtra Are Registered Against The Names Of Puja Khedkar’s Relatives:
An investigation by the Indian Express reveals that as many as eight companies are linked to her relatives and others close to her family. Records show that five of these companies operate from Pune addresses linked to Khedkar’s parents, Dilip and Manorama. Of the eight companies, seven were formed under the umbrella of Diligence Group, the eighth being Puja Automobiles, the company in which Manorama is a partner with her husband’s brother-in-law.
It must also be mentioned that the eight companies include ThermoVerita Engineering, and its shareholders include Mrs. Lata Bangar, Puja’s aunt, and her uncle Mr. Mahadev Bangar. The address of the company is linked to commercial land in Talwade, Pune, owned by her mother Manorama. This particular address was used by Ms. Khedkar to get a ration card for her disability certificate.
Ms. Puja Khedkar, a 2022 batch IAS officer under training, has become a subject of intense discourse over the internet and national television after allegations arose that she had lied about her mental and visual condition, through “fraudulently” obtained certificates from the District Civil Hospital in Ahmednagar, to secure an officer’s post despite an unremarkable score in the ultra-competitive qualifying exam. Khedkar was “diagnosed” with Locomotor Disability and a 7% permanent disability concerning her left lower limb. She also obtained a second certificate, which covered both low vision and mental illness (depression).
The conundrum was fueled when it was learned that Khedkar, while going through the selection process for an IAS post, had refused to undergo a mandatory medical test to confirm her disabilities six times in a row! It is pertinent to mention that she secured an All India Rank of 821 under the Physical Disability (PWD-5) category in the 2022 UPSC exams. The Union government established a one-member committee to verify Khedkar’s candidature and instructed it to submit a report within two weeks.
The Union Public Service Commission initiated multiple actions against Khedkar, including filing an FIR with the police and issuing a Show Cause Notice to cancel her candidature for the Civil Services Examination 2022 and to bar her from future examinations and selections.
The entire fiasco unfurled after she made demands for a separate cabin and staff during her Pune posting. She demanded a red-blue beacon light, a VIP number plate, along with a ‘Maharashtra government’ board affixed to her private Audi car and other shenanigans while being posted as the Super Numerary Assistant Collector in Pune.
