WhatsApp Chat Exposes IAS Officer’s Demands

Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, recently transferred from Pune over alleged misuse of power, has been appointed as Assistant Collector in Washim. Details from her WhatsApp chat with the Pune District Collector reveal her demands for a separate office, car, and house before assuming charge.

The District Collector flagged these unusual demands to the Chief Secretary. In his report, he suggested it would be inappropriate to continue Khedkar’s training in Pune, which might lead to administrative complications. The officer was offered her own chamber, but she declined it due to the lack of an attached bathroom. Before joining, Khedkar visited the office with her father, Dilip Khedkar, and proposed using a VIP hall located next to the mining department as her cabin.

The probationary officer was informed that she was not entitled to these facilities on probation, and accommodation would be provided to her. Following the District Collector’s report, Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, has been transferred to Washim district for the completion of her training.

On Thursday, she was appointed as the Assistant Collector in Washim and will serve there as a ‘supernumerary Assistant Collector’ until July 30, 2025. She also used her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate and had installed a ‘Maharashtra government’ board on her private car.

Following the controversy, a scrutiny of her appointment documents revealed that she allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services examination. Khedkar appeared for the civil services exam under the OBC and visually impaired categories. She also submitted a mental illness certificate.

In April 2022, she was asked to undergo medical tests at AIIMS to verify her disabilities. However, Khedkar refused to attend these examinations on six different occasions, an official stated. Later, an MRI scanning certificate she produced from a private facility was accepted and confirmed her IAS appointment.

Inconsistencies were also found in Khedkar’s claims to OBC non-creamy layer status. According to the election affidavit of her father, Dilip Khedkar, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on a Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi ticket, his wealth was shown to be worth Rs 40 crore. This raised questions about her OBC qualification as well.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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