Puja Khedkar's Mother Was Hiding At Lodge With Cab Driver, Used Fake ID

Police on her tail, Manorama Khedkar, the mother of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, used a fake Aadhaar card to get a room at a lodge in Maharashtra's Raigad district, sources have told NDTV. She had hired a private cab to reach the lodge and was living there with the cab driver, who she introduced as her son, the sources in police added.

Manorama Khedkar was arrested from the lodge this morning in connection with a viral video in which she is seen brandishing a firearm and threatening some villagers, reportedly over a land dispute. She faces multiple charges, including attempt to murder. A Pune court has remanded her in police custody for two days.

Several police teams had been looking for Manorama Khedkar and her husband Dilip Khedkar, a co-accused in the case linked to the viral video. Dilip Khedkar is yet to be arrested.

"Manorama rented a private taxi and reached the hotel. She was staying there with the cab driver and had introduced him as her son," a highly-placed police source told NDTV. "She had used a fake ID card that identified her as Indubai."

Police sources have said they tracked her down using GPS and then took her in custody at the lodge. A CCTV camera outside the lodge captured Manorama Khedkar being escorted to a police vehicle before she was brought to Pune and put under arrest.

CCTV camera has captured Manorama Khedkar being taken into custody

The video that has put Manorama Khedkar in trouble emerged amid the row surrounding her 34-year-old daughter Puja Khedkar. The 2023-batch trainee IAS officer made headlines a few weeks ago when Pune collector Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, flagging several demands that she was not entitled to during her probation.

This complaint set in motion a chain of events that led to shocking revelations. Questions were raised over how she cleared the tough selection process for UPSC. She was found to have availed of relaxation for physical disability and OBC candidacy, but allegations of her not being eligible for such relaxations surfaced.

Her two-year training has now been put on hold, and her selection into the IAS is being probed by a panel formed by the Centre.

Puja Khedkar's father Dilip Khedkar has also come under the radar. He is alleged of amassing assets disproportionate to his income. The retired Maharashtra government officer, it was found, was suspended twice on corruption charges after businessmen accused him of extortion. The Pune Anti Corruption Bureau has now launched an investigation against him.