Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar recalled to academy, her training put on hold

This is the first major action against Khedkar who had been transferred to Washim from Pune, her original posting place, amid allegations of manipulation of disability and OBC certificates for getting into the civil services.

She has been recalled to the training academy for "further necessary action".

"You are hereby relieved from the District Training Programme of the State Government of Maharashtra," said the release from the General Administration Department.

She has been instructed to "join the academy at the earliest" but not later than July 23.

The academy trains civil servants of the IAS cadre and conducts the foundation course of Group-A central civil services.

Khedkar had submitted two certificates, provided by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital in 2018 and 2021, to the UPSC under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category.

She was sent by the UPSC for a medical check-up at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences but skipped as many as six appointments between April and August 2022, claimed reports.

Apart from using a siren on her car, VIP number plates, and a sticker saying Government of Maharashtra, Khedkar has been found using Pune Additional Collector Ajay More's office while he was away. She reportedly removed his nameplate and furniture and even demanded letterheads.

None of these perks are available for junior officers on probation for 24 months. According to reports, her father, a retired administrative officer, had pushed for her demands to be fulfilled.

Apart from the disability claims, inconsistencies were also found in Khedkar's claims to OBC non-creamy layer status.

Questions were raised about her appointment in the civil services after a Pune RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar alleged that she did not fall under the OBC non-creamy layer as her father had assets worth Rs. 40 crore.

The falsified statements and allowances gained allowed Khedkar to pass the uber-competitive Civil Services Exam despite scoring a relatively low all-India rank of 841.

Khedkar was transferred from Pune to Washim after her 'exploits' - including the use of a siren on her private vehicle, an Audi luxury sedan - came to light.

Pune Collector Suhas Divase had written to the Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra government to request Puja Khedkar's reassignment.

She was later transferred to the Washim district.