Govt puts IAS probationer Puja Khedkar’s district training on hold

New Delhi, July 16

The government on Tuesday halted the ongoing district-level training of controversial IAS probationer Puja Khedkar and directed her to report to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration by July 23.

Khedkar, 34, has been under fire for allegedly faking her disability and caste certificates to secure entry to the prestigious services, with top government sources indicating her likely termination.

This is the first punitive action against Khedkar, who found herself in the eye of a storm after seeking undue benefits which she was not entitled to in her capacity as an assistant collector in Pune.

Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Nitin Gadre in a letter to Khedkar on Tuesday said, “The academy has decided to put your district training programme on hold and immediately recalls you 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 July 23, 2024 under any circumstance.”

The Union government’s personnel ministry had on July 11 constituted a panel of Additional Secretary Manoj Dwivedi to look into the allegations of fraud by Khedkar. The panel was asked to submit a report in weeks.

In the meantime, top official sources told The Tribune that Khedkar was likely staring at termination on account of possible forgery of her disability and non-creamy OBC layer certificate which entitled her to compete for the 2022 Civil Services Exam under the persons with benchmark disabilities category.

She is learnt to have secured a low vision certificate in 2018 and mental depression and low vision in 2021 from Ahmednagar district hospital in Maharashtra.

She qualified for the IRS in 2022 and worked as an Assistant Director at Sports Authority of India. She again took the civil services exam that year and got selected as an IAS officer in the disability and OBC quota. She secured rank 821.

Khedkar lodges harassment plaint against Pune collector

Washim: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has lodged a complaint of harassment against Pune district collector Suhas Diwase with Washim police, an official said on Tuesday. /PTI