The central government has discharged Puja Khedkar with immediate effect from service, official sources said on Saturday. Khedkar is a former probationary civil servant from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
According to the reports, Khedkar was immediately released from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) by the central government on September 6, 2024, in accordance with Rule 12 of the IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954.
Khedkar has been accused of allegations of cheating and wrongly availing benefits from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota to secure her appointment into the services. However, she has refuted all the accusations.
As per the rules, the central government may release probationers from service under certain conditions, such as if the central government is satisfied that the probationer was ineligible for recruitment to the service or if they fail to pass the re-examination of the service.
On July 31, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled her candidature and debarred her from taking any future exams. Khedkar was serving as a probationary IAS officer in her cadre state Maharashtra.
(with PTI inputs)