Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar has accused Pune Collector Suhas Divase of harassment
IAS officer trainee Puja Khedkar has accused Pune Collector Suhas Divase of harassment.
The government is looking into Ms. Khedkar’s claims that she falsified information regarding her mental and visual impairments in order to pass the Civil Services entrance test. She then allegedly took use of her position as Assistant Collector of Pune to obtain a number of benefits that were not granted to lower-ranking officers.
The 23-year-old Ms. Khedkar was ordered to return to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Uttarakhand this afternoon after being returned from her position in Washim, Maharashtra, which Mr. Divase had moved her to following the allegations.
A one-member commission was established by the government last week to look into the allegations.
According to earlier reports, Ms. Khedkar gave police a call to her residence yesterday in order to provide information on “certain matters”. She talked to three female police officers from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
A preliminary report containing screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Ms. Puja Khedkar and an anonymous person from Mr. Divase’s office was made public by the Collector’s office last week.
Ms. Khedkar had requested information in her mails regarding her workplace and a government vehicle, both of which are off-probation workers’ domains.
She was informed that this will also be “discussed with collector sir on Monday”.
Ten days before to the start of her assignment, on May 23, Ms. Khedkar, who seemed irritated, messaged, “Any update about accommodation, travel, cabin, etc?” No one responded.
She gave a sort of ultimatum four days later.
Please finish the assigned car and cabin before I arrive on the third. There won’t be time later. Please let me know if it is not feasible, and I will speak with the collector, sir, appropriately.
Ms. Khedkar, an IAS officer from the 2023 batch, is accused of lying about her OBC identity and of using a “Government of Maharashtra” and a siren—a red beacon designated for VIP government vehicles—for her own Audi automobile.
Her claims of physical, mental, and visual problems are also causing discussion.
It has come to light that Ms. Khedkar ignored many requests for a medical examination to verify her conditions when she completed the Civil Services admissions process.
And last week, it came to light that she had contacted a Pune hospital to get a certificate of her locomotor impairment after missing the previous call. The request was turned down. She was diagnosed with “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability” by a Pipri hospital, however, after they were asked to.
Ms. Khedkar has up until now declined to speak on her circumstances, claiming that “government rules” prevented her from saying anything. Her parents are currently embroiled in disputes as well. But on Monday, she did. She took offense at the “media trial” that surrounded her behavior.
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