Indus Valley Times

PUNE,JULY 17 : Puja Khedkar, the probationary IAS officer, secured a disability certificate using a false address and a fake ration card, documents accessed by India Today showed.

Khedkar submitted an address of ‘Plot No. 53, Dehu-Alandi, Talwade’ to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, claiming it was her residence in Pimpri-Chinchwad. However, it has been revealed that this address belongs to Thermoverita Engineering Private Limited, a defunct company, and not a residential property.

Documents also showed that a fake ration card was created using this company address, which Khedkar then used to obtain the disability certificate, claiming locomotor disability. The certificate, issued on August 24, 2022, stated that she had seven percent disability in the knee.

Additionally, an Audi car has been registered in the name of the same Thermoverita company. According to the tax collection department of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipality, Rs 2.7 lakh is due on this company for the last three years.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, is under scrutiny for allegedly forging a disability certificate for the UPSC recruitment. Her OBC non-creamy-layer status has also come under scrutiny following allegations of misuse of power.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Pune submitted a detailed report on the property holdings of Dilip Khedkar, father of Puja Khedkar, to the state headquarters on Tuesday evening.

Dilip Khedkar, who served as the Director of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) until his retirement in 2020, is accused of amassing disproportionate assets during his tenure. Further action is expected after higher authorities review the findings.

Along with allegations of forged certificates, Puja Khedkar faces serious charges including misuse of power to demand special privileges and threatening police officials.

She was transferred from Pune to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector after Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase submitted a report to senior officials about her conduct. She allegedly demanded a separate office, official residence, a car, and support staff before joining. Probationary officers are not entitled to these perks.

A committee formed by the central government is probing the allegations against Khedkar. Meanwhile, the government on Tuesday put on hold the officer’s district training program and summoned her back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for “necessary action”.

However, Khedkar dismissed the allegations, claiming that she was a victim of misinformation and “fake news”. She also filed a complaint of harassment against the Pune district collector.

-The India Today