Controversial IAS officer Puja Khedkar's training put on hold, recalled to academy
This is the first major action against her amid charges of manipulation of disability and OBC certificates for getting into the civil services
Mired in a controversy over alleged misuse of power and privileges, Maharashtra cadre IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s training has been put on hold and she has been recalled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.
This is the first major action against Khedkar who had been transferred to Washim from Pune, where she was originally posted, amid serious charges of manipulation of disability and OBC certificates for getting into the civil services. She has been recalled to the training academy for “further necessary action”.
She has been asked to report back to the academy by July 23, a state government official said. A letter by Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Nitin Gadre, said the academy has decided to put Khedkar’s district training programme on hold and has immediately recalled her for further necessary action.
“You are hereby relieved from the district training programme of the state government of Maharashtra. You are instructed to join the academy at the earliest but not later than 23rd July 2024 under any circumstance,” the letter said.
Pune police are already probing the authenticity of various certificates submitted by her to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), one of them indicating visual impairment.
Khedkar had earlier submitted two certificates, provided by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital in 2018 and 2021, to the UPSC under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category. She was, however, sent by the UPSC for a medical check-up at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Science. She, however, skipped as many as six appointments between April and August 2022, claimed several reports.
It has now come to light that she applied for a disability certificate from the Aundh government hospital in Pune in August 2022, but after medical tests, her application was rejected.
She was transferred from Pune, where she was posted as assistant collector, to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector after she was first accused of demanding perks and facilities to which she was not entitled as a trainee official.
On the other hand, Khedkar has alleged a “media trial” against her and claimed that she had been the victim of a misinformation campaign.
(With agency inputs)
