The Union Public Service Commission has issued a notice cancelling the selection of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who was being investigated for lying about visual and mental disabilities and forging her identity (including changing her parents' names) to clear the civil services entrance examination.
A notice was issued on Friday afternoon stating that Ms Khedkar had “fraudulently made attempts exceeding the permissible limit” and that the UPSC had taken “a series of actions against” the 23-year-old.
These include filing of a chargesheet by the Delhi Police, including forgery, under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and IT Act. The UPSC has also issued a show-cause notice to Ms. Khedkar asking why her candidature should not be cancelled. Further action will depend on Ms. Khedkar's response.
This may mean that she will not be allowed to take the entrance exam in the future.
“…the UPSC adheres strictly to its constitutional mandate and conducts all its processes, including all examinations, with the utmost care and without any compromise. The Commission is committed to ensuring that… trust and credibility remain intact.”
Speaking to reporters later on Friday, Ms Khedkar said: “Now the judiciary will take its course. Whatever questions arise, I will answer them.”
The action against Ms Khedkar came hours after the Maharashtra government submitted a report to the Centre, specifically to the Ministry of Personnel and Training.
READ | In the investigative report on Puja Khedkar, corruption and abuse of power
This report is a collection of documents gathered from various sources to test Puja Khedkar's many claims, including her physical disability and her OBC (or other backward class) status.
There is mention of Ms Khedkar's alleged abuse of power during her first post.
She was sent to Pune as an assistant collector and later transferred to Washim. This was after news broke that she had been given perks like a siren on her private car, which were not available to probationary staff.
READ | “Regret…”: IAS trainee's disability request rejected
When these allegations came out, more followed. They alleged that she had used false disability certificates to qualify for the IAS, despite scoring a very low 841 in the all-India entrance test.
READ | “Someone had doubts…”: Doctor on claim for disability benefits from trainee officer
It also came out how she had tried to get the fake certificates. First she went to a hospital in Pune, which turned her down, and then she succeeded at another hospital in Pipri, which diagnosed her as having an “old tear in her anterior cruciate ligament with instability in her left knee”.
Sources told NDTV that Ms Khedkar could be discharged if found guilty.
Earlier this week, she was recalled from Washim to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand, which trains future government officials.
On Wednesday, Ms Khedkar, who has been largely silent since the row broke out, launched a counter-attack by accusing Pune Collector Suhas Divase of intimidation. The complaint was lodged late in the evening (after 11 pm) at her home in Washim. She had called three women policemen to her residence.
Mr Divase said he has not yet received a copy of the complaint, but he denies all allegations.
READ | “Please do it before I join in…”: Messages from Puja Khedkar
Earlier, his office had released a report with screenshots of Ms Khedkar's WhatsApp chats with an unidentified official. In the messages, she asked for details of benefits not available to probationers.
Ms Khedkar also accuses the press of conducting a 'media trial'.
Meanwhile, her parents are embroiled in their own legal battles.
Manorama Khedkar, her mother, has been charged with attempted murder after an old video of her waving a gun in a man’s face went viral. She has been arrested and is in police custody.
Dilip Khedkar, her father, is being investigated by the Pune Anti-Corruption Bureau after a complaint that his assets were disproportionate to his income. He is a retired government employee and was suspended twice – for corruption – when he was still working. He is still on the run.
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