Adding to the troubles of the junior officer caught in the middle of a massive controversy, an old video showing trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s mother threatening a group of men with a pistol in her hand has surfaced online.
The Khedkar family, which has properties across Maharashtra, had purchased 25 acres of land in Mulshi tehsil of Pune. A part of it allegedly encroached upon the land of neighbouring farmers.
Upon objection from the farmers, Khedkar’s mother Manorama reached the spot with a bouncer and threatened the farmers with a pistol. In the video, Manorama claims that the land was in her name.
In a two-minute video recorded by one of the locals, Manorama Khedkar can be seen yelling at a man with a pocket pistol in her hand.
She also claims in the video that the ‘satbara’ (land documents), a document maintained by the revenue department of the state for tax collection purposes, was also in her name. The document is issued by the tehsildar or the concerned land authority.
The 2023 batch officer, Puja Khedkar, who was transferred to Washim from Pune, is accused of posing as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate in her UPSC candidature and also claimed she was visually and mentally disabled but refused to take tests to corroborate her claims.
Also Read: Pune IAS trainee Puja, who used siren on private car, claimed mental disability during selection
Puja Khedkar recently hit the headlines over unauthorised use of a beacon and insignia on the private car she had been using. She was also transferred from over complaints about her conduct during her probation period.
She also allegedly made demands for a separate office and an official car. Such privileges are not allowed for a probation officer.
Khedkar, however, did not stop at this. The trainee officer also occupied the chamber of additional collector Ajay More when he was away and put up a board with her name.
Apart from her conduct, there are also allegations that she misused the disability provision and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to become an IAS officer.
The Centre has constituted a single-member panel “to verify the candidature” of the 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre.