'Trying To Live Normal Life Wrong?': Telangana IAS Officer Refutes Claims Of Forging Disability Quota

The IAS officer's assertion came at a time when a trainee IAS officer, Puja Khedkar had been accused of forging documents to show that she is mentally and visually disabled to seek reservation. 

Praful Desai, an Indian Administrative Services officer from Telangana has denied allegations against him of forging a disability certificate to gain a reservation in the Union Public Service Commission civil services examination. 

Desai has been accused of misusing the Orthopedically Handicapped (OH) quota as photos of him doing horse-riding and other adventure sports went viral. The IAS officer refuted the accusation saying his disability does not prevent him from carrying out physical activities, which were part of his training. 

The assertion by Karimnagar Additional Collector, according to his bio on X profile, came at a time when a trainee IAS officer from Maharashtra, Puja Khedkar had been accused of forging documents to show that she is mentally and visually disabled to seek reservation. 

In a post on X, Desai said he had applied for the UPSC exam in 2018 with a benchmark disability quota issued by the competent authority. A day after the personality test/interview, he appeared for a medical examination in front of the medical board at All India Institue of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Desai said that he was certified by the board that he was a person with a benchmark disability. 

In 2018, he could not clear the exam, the post read. 

Next year, he again appeared for the exam and again underwent the medical examination at AIIMS, Delhi where he was certified by the medical board to be a person with disabilities.

The same report was shared with the Department of Personnel and Training and the UPSC, he said. 

On his photos being circulated on social media where he could be seen horse-riding and rafting, Desai asserted that while he has a disability, it does not prevent him from engaging in certain physical activities. 

“Being a physically challenged person and pushing my physical limits and trying to live a normal life like others is wrong? My request to all those netizens who are sharing fake information is to be empathetic and sensitive towards genuine people and their families before directly jumping to conclusions without thorough information and even now I’m ready to face any medical board examination,” he said.