NEW DELHI:
IAS probationer Puja Khedkar
, currently embroiled in
controversy
due to multiple
allegations
, has declined to comment on the government's decision to set up a panel to investigate her candidature, but said she will "follow the procedure". Khedkar, who was transferred from Pune to Washim amid the allegations, saying she is not authorized to speak on the matter.
"I am not authorized to say anything to the media.
I will give my submissions before the committee. I will follow the procedure," she said.
On Thursday, the
central government
established a
single-member committee
to examine the claims and details surrounding Khedkar's candidature. The ministry of personnel announced that the committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary, would submit its report in two weeks.
"The central government has constituted a single-member committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of additional secretary to the Government of India, to verify the candidature claims and other details of IAS Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination 2022 and earlier CSEs. The Committee will submit its report in two weeks," reads the ministry of personnel statement.
In a related development, the Pune Municipal Corporation is expected to take action against illegal encroachments on the footpath outside Khedkar's family bungalow and others nearby, with bulldozers seen on standby near the bungalow.
Khedkar, a 2023 batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre who secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 841 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam, recently attracted controversy for using her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate. She also demanded facilities not typically available to probationary officers in the IAS.
According to a report submitted by Pune collector Suhas Diwse to the General Administration Department, Khedkar repeatedly requested a separate cabin, car, residential quarters, and a peon before even starting her training on June 3. These requests were denied.
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 ante-chamber as her office.
More seriously, Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. Reports indicate she also submitted a mental illness certificate. In April 2022, she was asked to report to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate but did not comply, citing a Covid-19 infection.
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