Dilip Khedkar, the father of Puja Khedkar, has been embroiled in legal troubles following allegations of threatening senior officials at the Pune Collectorate in an attempt to secure special privileges for his daughter. Puja Khedkar, whose IAS candidature was recently nullified by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), was found to have engaged in serious misconduct by forging documents to claim the disability quota for the Civil Services examination.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Dilip Khedkar, after Puja joined the Pune Collectorate as a trainee IAS officer, repeatedly visited the office and allegedly used threats against a tehsildar and other staff members to demand a separate cabin for his daughter. The tehsildar, feeling intimidated by Khedkar’s demands, eventually lodged a police complaint, which led to the registration of a case against Dilip Khedkar. The charges include obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their duties (Section 186) and criminal intimidation (Sections 504 and 506) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with legal provisions for public order and protection.
In addition to these allegations, Dilip Khedkar faces another legal issue involving a land dispute. He has been accused of threatening a farmer with a gun over this dispute. In this case, Khedkar has secured anticipatory bail, allowing him to avoid immediate arrest. The family is also under scrutiny due to another FIR against both Manorama Khedkar, Puja's mother, and Dilip Khedkar. This FIR was filed following a video that appeared to show Manorama threatening farmers regarding a land dispute in Pune’s Mulshi area. The FIR includes charges under the Indian Arms Act, reflecting the severity of the allegations.
Puja Khedkar, who successfully passed the Civil Services examination in 2023 and was assigned as a trainee IAS officer in Maharashtra, faced scrutiny when several allegations of misconduct emerged. These allegations included claims of power misuse, which prompted a formal report by the Pune District Collector to the Chief Secretary. The subsequent investigation uncovered that Puja had falsified documents to exploit the disability quota and misused the OBC non-creamy layer provisions. This led the UPSC to cancel her candidature on July 31 and impose a permanent ban on her participation in all future examinations and selections conducted by the Commission.
The unfolding legal and administrative controversies surrounding the Khedkar family highlight a significant breach of ethics and regulations, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the recruitment process for high-profile civil service positions.
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