Centre constitutes single-member Committee to verify candidature claims, other details of IAS Puja Khedkar
Jul 11, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 11 : The Central government on Thursday constituted a single-member committee to verify the candidature claims and other details of Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, probationary IAS officer posted in Pune, who was transferred to Washim in central Maharashtra on Tuesday after she was found at the center of a controversy over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant.
Ministry of Personnel made the announcement in a statement emphasizing that the committee is chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary under Central government and it will 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 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 2 weeks," reads the Ministry of Personnel statement.
Khedkar is 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, sparked a controversy recently when she used her private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate.
She also demanded facilities that are not available to probationary officers in the IAS.
According to a report submitted by Pune collector Suhas Diwse to the General Administration Department, Khedkar repeatedly demanded that she be provided with a separate cabin, car, residential quarters, and a peon even before joining the duty as a trainee on June 3. However, she was denied the facilities.
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.
Khedkar allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. Reports claimed that she had also submitted a mental illness certificate. In April 2022, she was asked to report at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for verification of her disability certificate, but she did not do so, citing Covid infection.
