While the other allegations are not getting resolved, another controversy surrounding IAS Puja Khedkar has come to light now. As per the report by Sakal, Khedekar allegedly gave UPSC Civil services exam more than permitted attempts by changing her name. The report stated that she gave the exam after exhausting permissible attempts.
According to the report, she appeared in the examination from 2020-21 under the name of Khedkar Puja Diliprao. Then in 2021-22 she reportedly changed her name and gave the exam. She allegedly changed his name to Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar and gave the exam twice even after she exhausted permitted attempts.
Alleged misuse of power and transfer
Maharashtra cadre IAS officer, Dr Puja Khedkar, has stirred up a storm in the political and administrative circles of the state due to her transfer following alleged misuse of authority in Pune Collector office.
Her OBC and disability certificates are also under scrutiny, with the Centre establishing a single-member committee on Thursday "to verify the candidature" of the 2023-batch IAS officer of the Maharashtra cadre.
She is also under intense scrutiny for allegedly manipulating benefits under the physical disabilities category and OBC quota to secure her position in the elite civil service.
Who is IAS Dr Puja Khedkar? What Did She Exactly Do?
Dr. Puja Khedkar is an IAS probationer who is entangled in the misuse of authority in Pune. As per a LinkedIn profile, which now stands deleted, she is an MBBS doctor and also claimed to have worked at Delhi’s Ganga Ram Hospital as an endocrinologist.
Her father, Dilip Khedkar, is a former state government officer. He recently contested the Lok Sabha election from Ahmednagar for the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, led by Prakash Ambedkar. According to his election affidavit, he has wealth exceeding ₹40 crore.
The officer at the center of the row, however, in a mock interview clip that has gone viral on social media, was asked by the panel why she has shown her father's income as zero, to which she replied that they have separated. She also informed the panel that her father is a retired Maharashtra government servant.
It should be noted that the creamy layer certificate limitation is an annual parental income of ₹8 lakh.
It has been claimed that Khedkar has visited his daughter multiple times at the Pune collectorate and pressured officers.
