Mumbai:

Puja Khedkar – the on-probation IAS officer under scrutiny after allegedly lying about mental and visual disabilities, and her OBC background – to qualify for the Civil Service, now faces a fresh charge.

Navi Mumbai Police submitted a report to the Maharashtra Home Department stating Ms Khedkar pressured the cops into releasing a family member accused of theft, news agency PTI said.

It is believed Ms Khedkar, on May 18, called a Deputy Commissioner of Police and demanded that he release a man suspected of transporting stolen steel. She insisted the man – identified in some reports as Ishwar Uttarwade – was innocent and that the charges against him were “minor”.

Ms Khedkar named herself in the call with the top cop. However, in the report he said he was unsure if the caller was an imposter or who she claimed to be, i.e., a government official.

Either way, the police did not release Uttarwade, who remains in custody.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch officer, had been posted as an Assistant Collector to Pune district.

She was to begin her duties, as a trainee or junior officer, in June.

READ | “Get It Done Before I Join…”: IAS Officer Puja Khedkar’s Chats

However, details have emerged this week of how she may have deceived authorities about medical conditions and her OBC status, as well as prodding her way into perks not meant for new officers.

These included a siren, or beacon, and a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker for her private vehicle, a luxury Audi sedan. On the question of the red beacon, Pune Police said they will take action.

It has also emerged that Ms Khedkar’s Audi, registered to a private company, has 21 pending traffic violation notices. The cops have issued a notice seeking a penalty payment of Rs 27,000.

She was also found using Additional Collector Ajay More’s office while he was away. She reportedly removed office furniture and even demanded letterheads.

Faced with multiple instances of possible abuse of power, the Pune Collector’s office has transferred Ms Khedkar to Washim, where she will be a Supernumerary Assistant Collector. She has refused to comment on the row or her transfer, saying “government rules” forbid her from making statements.

Ms Khedkar now also faces a probe by the central government.

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

Sources told NDTV she will be sacked if found guilty of lying and may also face criminal charges.

NDTV Explains | Who is Puja Khedkar, What Is the Controversy?

The investigation will be conducted by Manoj Dwivedi, the Additional Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training, and a report is to be submitted within two weeks, sources added.

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Mumbai:

Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, caught in the middle of a massive controversy over claims she made in her UPSC candidature, has properties worth crores, NDTV has found.

According to Ms Khedkar’s “statement of immovable property for the year 2023”, updated as of January 1, 2024, and exclusively accessed by NDTV, the junior officer owns five plots of land and two apartments across Maharashtra. The value of these assets totals a whopping Rs 22 crore.

The disclosure lists her as the owner of two plots of land in Pune district’s Mahalunge worth nearly Rs 16 crore, one in Pune district’s Dhadawali worth Rs 4 crore, and two in Ahmednagar’s Pachunde and Nandur worth Rs 25 lakh and Rs 1 crore respectively. The plots in Pachunde and Nandur were a gift from her mother. In all, she owns over 22 acres of land.

She also has two apartments in Ahmednagar and Pune. The 984-square-foot flat in Ahmednagar’s Savedi is worth Rs 45 lakh and the 724-square-foot apartment in Pune’s Kondhwa is worth Rs 75 lakh.

All the assets were acquired between 2014 and 2019 and Ms Khedkar earns Rs 42 lakh annually from them. Moreover, according to Vijay Kumbhar, an RTI activist from Pune, her father has assets worth Rs 40 crore.

Ms Khedkar posed as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate in her UPSC candidature. In Maharashtra, to qualify as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate, the annual income of the applicant’s parents or the yearly income of the family should not be more than Rs 8 lakh.

Ms Khedkar, who had an all-India rank of 841, also claimed visual and mental disability. However, she did not undergo the mandatory medical tests to corroborate her disability claims.

However, in mounting trouble for the new IAS officer, the Centre has formed a single-member panel to verify the “candidature claims and other details” she had submitted. The committee will submit its report in two weeks.

The 2023-batch IAS officer, currently on 24-month probation, is facing serious charges of impropriety and “abuse of power”. It is alleged that she was using a red-blue beacon, VIP number plates, and a “Government of Maharashtra” sticker on her private vehicle, an Audi sedan.

Amid the escalating row, Ms Khedkar has been transferred to Washim.

“Government rules do not allow me to speak anything on this matter. So sorry, I cannot speak,” said Ms Khedkar told the media this morning.