Pune: Maharashtra cadre IAS Pooja Khedkar has now accused the Pune District Magistrate of harassment. Pooja Khedkar has filed a complaint with the police and demanded action against the DM. According to sources, this complaint has been made regarding the police reaching Pooja Khedkar’s house. Earlier, the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, took big action against Pooja Khedkar.
After the medical probe, probationary Puja’s IAS training is put on hold in Maharashtra. She has been called back to Mussorie, and summonses have been issued. With this, her training has been put on hold by the Maharashtra government.
The Maharashtra government has received an order for the cancellation of her training. Puja has called Mussorie back by July 23. This action has been taken on alleged misconduct in age relaxation and medical certification to clear the civil services examination.
The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), in a letter is said that is has decided to place yhe District Training Program of Puja Dilip Khedkar on hold has issues an immediate reporting for further actions.
Following a string of controversies, Puja was recently transferred from Pune to Washim district. The Central Government has set up a committee to investigate these allegations.
Earlier on Saturday, Puja Khedkar refused to comment on the centre setting up a panel to probe her candidature.
Puja Khedkar, who was transferred to Washim from Pune following the allegations, said she was not authorised to speak on this matter.
“I am not authorised to say anything on this matter. I am not permitted to speak on this matter as per government rule,” she said.
The controversy surrounding trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar from the 2023 batch in Maharashtra, has intensified with fresh allegations against her and her family.
Puja is under scrutiny for allegedly abusing her authority and submitting fraudulent disability and caste certificates to qualify for the civil services exam.
She was accused of various corruption cases, including unauthorised use of a vehicle equipped with a beacon light and demanding privileges such as a separate office, official vehicle, and staff, which are not typically granted to trainee officers.
The Ministry of Personnel announced in a statement, emphasising that the committee is chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary under the Central Government and that it will submit its report in two weeks.
The IAS trainee was also accused of removing the nameplate of a senior official at the Pune collector’s office when he allowed her to use his antechamber as her office.
Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. Reports claimed that she had also submitted a mental illness certificate.