Probationary IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Faces Potential Termination, Criminal Charges If Allegations Proven True: Report

Puja Khedkar, a probationary IAS officer, may face termination and criminal charges if found guilty of misusing power and privileges. She is accused of misrepresenting facts and manipulating documents to secure her position in the IAS.

File Photo of Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar

Source : ANI

Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, embroiled in a controversy over the alleged misuse of power and privileges, may face termination from service if found guilty, official sources revealed on Friday, news agency PTI Reported. The 34-year-old officer, a 2023 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) inductee, is currently under probation and posted in her home cadre, Maharashtra.

According to PTI's report, sources indicated that all documents presented by Khedkar to secure her candidature in the civil services examination and her subsequent selection will be re-examined by a single-member committee constituted by the Centre on Thursday. "She may face criminal charges if it is found that she misrepresented facts or manipulated documents for her selection," an official source said, as quoted by the report.

Allegations Against IAS Puja Khedkar

Khedkar has come under intense scrutiny for allegedly misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the IAS. The probe committee, headed by Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Additional Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, has been tasked with submitting its report within two weeks.

Amid these developments, Khedkar assumed her new role as assistant collector at the Washim District Collectorate in the Vidarbha region on Thursday. This transfer follows allegations of her bullying behaviour in Pune, where she reportedly placed a red beacon atop her private luxury Audi car, a violation of protocol.

The officer was relocated to Washim after Pune district collector Suhas Diwase wrote to state additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre, urging a transfer to avoid administrative complications. Diwase sought action against Khedkar for her alleged aggressive treatment of junior staff, illegal occupation of the additional collector Ajay More's ante-chamber, and the inappropriate use of a red beacon on her vehicle.