Pune City Police have filed a case against Manorama Khedkar, the mother of former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar, at Chaturshrangi Police Station for creating obstruction during the arrest. She has been charged under Sections 221, 238, and 263 of the BNS.
The case is linked to a road rage incident in Navi Mumbai, where two unidentified men allegedly kidnapped a truck driver’s helper and took him to Manorama Khedkar’s house. During the probe, Navi Mumbai Police tracked the location and reached her residence. But when the police team tried to enter, Manorama Khedkar allegedly stopped them and tried to help the accused get away, reported ANI.
Who was the missing truck driver?
The truck driver, who was missing after his mixer truck crashed into a car near the Airoli signal in Navi Mumbai, was found at sacked IAS officer Puja Khedkar‘s Pune residence. The police said that the driver Prahlad Kumar was behind the wheel of his mixer truck when it collided with a car bearing the number plate MH 12 RT 5000. After the crash, two people from the car allegedly forced Prahlad Kumar inside their vehicle and took him away.
During the investigation, police tracked the car to the Chatushringi area in Pune, where it was found parked at the home of Puja Khedkar. The police eventually rescued the driver from there.
Police accuse Khedkar’s mother of obstruction
During the rescue, police said Khedkar’s mother, Manorama, created a lot of obstruction in arresting the truck driver. She allegedly refused to open the door, argued with officers, and tried to block them from entering. She has now been called in for questioning. Watch here:
What happened to Puja Khedkar?
In September last year, the Central government removed Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled her selection in the country’s top civil service. In April 2022, the UPSC asked Puja to get a medical test at AIIMS in New Delhi. She requested a delay citing COVID-19, and the test was shifted to August 2022.
UPSC also asked her to undergo a brain MRI to check the cause of vision loss in both her eyes. Puja gave them an MRI report from a private hospital that backed her disability claim, but UPSC rejected it. They took the matter to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which ruled against her on February 23, 2023.
Investigations found that she had cheated by wrongly using OBC and disability quotas. Following this, the UPSC not only cancelled her selection but also banned her for life from taking the civil services exam. The Commission said she had faked her identity several times to appear for the exam.
Puja’s father, Diliprao Khedkar, worked with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and is now retired. Her grandfather was also a senior government officer. In 2024, Diliprao contested the Lok Sabha elections as a candidate of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). Puja’s mother, as reported last year, was the sarpanch of their village, Bhalgaon, but there is no confirmation if she still holds the position.