Pune Collector Suhas Diwase has denied the allegations of harassment levelled against him by Indian Administrative Service (IAS) probationer Puja Khedkar, whose candidature was cancelled by the UPSC on Wednesday. Diwase termed the charges levelled by Khedkar as “nonsensical" and claimed they were made as an "afterthought.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, Diwase said Khedkar was attached to the district Collector’s office from June 3-14, during which he met her thrice, and that too "in the company of my officers and lawyers."
"Post June 14, she was attached to the office of the Divisional Commissioner," IE quoted the Pune Collector as saying.
The Collector pointed out that Khedkar had not made any allegations against him during her posting there.
“In her letter to the state government, in response to my letter, she had not made any such allegations,” he said. “The issue of harassment rose only when she went to Washim and was an afterthought,” he said as per the IE report.
Diwase had also written to the state government about Khedkar's alleged misbehaviour during her probationary period
On Wednesday, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled Khedkar’s candidature in the 2022 Civil Services Examination (CSE) and barred her from appearing for any future examinations of the commission. The move came after the commission found Khedkar had violated rules by appearing for the exam more times than what was allowed.
Khedkar is facing multiple allegations, including the submission of false disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to qualify the UPSC exam. UPSC has also filed a case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the benefits of quota by faking her identity to take the civil services examination beyond the permissible number of attempts
A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 1 its order on the anticipatory bail of Khedkar. During the hearing, Khedkar told the court that she was being targeted for filing a sexual harassment complaint against Pune Collector.
Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed that she has imminent threat of arrest. The prosecution opposed the application, saying that she had cheated the system.
During the proceedings, Khedkar said she wanted the anticipatory bail to establish her innocence.