Pune Court Grants Interim Protection from Arrest to Probationary IAS Officer Puja Khedkar’s Father

A Pune Sessions Court has granted interim protection from arrest until July 25 to Dilip Khedkar, the father of the controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in a case where he is accused of threatening a local farmer over a land dispute. Dilip Khedkar filed an anticipatory bail plea in court on Friday.

Dilip Khedkar is co-accused with his wife, Manorama Khedkar, who is alleged to have threatened a local farmer regarding the same land dispute. Manorama Khedkar was arrested in connection with this case on Thursday (July 18)and has been remanded in police custody until July 20.

In related developments, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has sealed a Pune-based company, ThermoVerita, linked to Manorama Khedkar due to an alleged tax default amounting to Rs 2.77 lakh. This action follows controversy surrounding probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who had used the company’s address to obtain a disability certificate from YCM Hospital Pimpri Chinchwad.

“The property tax for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 for ThermoVerita India Pvt. Ltd. has been pending for the last two years. Additionally, the current year’s outstanding dues are also unpaid,” said Shekhar Singh, Commissioner of PCMC. “As their dues remained unpaid in 2023, we initially issued notices and subsequently disconnected their water supply as a graded response. Since the dues have been outstanding for the last two years, our next step was to seal the property.”

Singh added that the total outstanding amount for the last two years is Rs 1.96 lakh, and including the current year’s dues, the total amounts to Rs 2.77 lakh.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced on Friday that it has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against IAS probationer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar for allegedly “faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts beyond the permissible limit.” The Commission has also issued her a show cause notice regarding the cancellation of her selection and debarment from future examinations.

The investigation revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the Examination Rules by falsifying her identity, including changes to her name, her father’s and mother’s names, her photograph or signature, her email ID, mobile number, and address, the UPSC stated in a press release. Khedkar was a provisionally recommended candidate for the Civil Service Examination, 2022.

Read More: Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, States High Court, International