Amid the ongoing investigation into allegations against controversial IAS trainee Puja Khedkar, officials confirmed on Friday that the police have submitted their report on the marital status of her parents to the Maharashtra government. Khedkar is accused of falsely claiming her parents, Manorama and Dilip, were separated to avail the Other Backward Class (OBC) non-creamy layer quota for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam.
A senior police official, without divulging details, confirmed to the media that her parents are "legally separated," addressing ongoing speculations amid other charges leveled against her.
Puja Khedkar fails to report to IAS training academy
Significantly, trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar is under intense scrutiny for allegedly manipulating documents to appear for the UPSC examinations multiple times, as well as misusing her power as a bureaucrat and obtaining a disability certificate and non-creamy layer quota fraudulently. Earlier, she failed to report to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie on Tuesday, after being summoned to return by July 23 following serious allegations. Despite this, she remains untraceable, according to media reports.
Khedkar was also summoned by Pune city police to appear on July 20 to record her statement regarding a harassment complaint filed against Pune district collector Suhas Diwase, but she did not show up.
UPSC initiates action against Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the Union Public Service Commission has initiated a series of stern actions against Puja Khedkar after discovering she allegedly faked her identity to fraudulently avail attempts beyond the permissible limit. On July 19, the UPSC filed a First Information Report (FIR) and issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) for the cancellation of her candidature in the Civil Services Examination-2022.
"The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has conducted a detailed and thorough investigation into the misdemeanour of Ms. Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022. From this investigation, it has been revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the Examination Rules by faking her identity by changing her name, her father’s and mother’s names, her photograph/signature, her email ID, mobile number, and address," the commission said in an official statement.
"The UPSC has, therefore, initiated a series of actions against her, including criminal prosecution by filing a First Information Report (FIR) with the police authorities and issuing a Show Cause Notice (SCN) for cancellation of her candidature in the Civil Services Examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations/selections, in accordance with the Rules of the Civil Services Examination-2022," it added.
READ MORE | 'Judiciary will take its course,' says IAS trainee Puja Khedkar as UPSC files complaint against her
READ MORE | IAS trainee Puja Khedkar's mother Manorama Khedkar sent to police custody till July 20
