Probationary IAS Puja Khedkar has initiated a legal complaint, alleging harassment against Pune district collector Suhas Diwase.

IAS Puja Khedkar garnered attention following revelations of her soliciting amenities and privileges not customarily granted to a trainee IAS Puja Khedkar during her tenure in Pune, where she held the position of assistant collector.

WHO IS SUHAS DIWASE?

Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase was the official who formally alerted the state chief secretary regarding Puja Khedkar’s alleged improprieties. In a comprehensive report, he elaborated on the probationary IAS officer’s pronounced “sense of entitlement” and conduct-related issues during her probation in Pune.

Dated June 24, Diwase’s letter chronicled Puja Khedkar’s extraordinary requests and mentioned her father, Deelip Khedkar, a retired IAS officer, who reportedly pressured district personnel to acquiesce to his daughter’s demands.

Diwase’s report also suggested that continuing Puja Khedkar’s training in Pune would be inappropriate due to potential administrative disruptions. The document noted her refusal of an assigned office space on the grounds that it lacked an attached restroom.

Consequently, the state government reassigned the 32-year-old probationary IAS officer to Washim district as a supernumerary assistant collector following Diwase’s grievances.

KHEDKAR’S DISTRICT TRAINING PROGRAMME PUT ON HOLD

This situation coincides with the Maharashtra government’s announcement on Tuesday that Puja Khedkar’s district training program was suspended amid allegations of her falsifying disability certificates to pass the civil services examination. Additionally, she was summoned back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie by July 23 for “necessary action.”

“You are hereby relieved from the district training program of the state government of Maharashtra… You are instructed to join the academy at the earliest but not later than 23rd July 2024 under any circumstance,” stated a letter issued by Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Nitin Gadre.

ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PUJA KHEDKAR

The 34-year-old Maharashtra cadre officer faces accusations of employing fraudulent methods to clear her civil services exam, including allegedly forging Other Backward Classes (OBC) non-creamy layer (NCL) certificates and disability certificates.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch officer, had submitted several medical certificates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), one of which indicated visual impairment under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) provision.

Last week, the Union government formed a one-member committee “to verify the candidature” of Khedkar, with instructions to submit a report within two weeks.

Additionally, the Maharashtra chief secretary’s office and the director’s office of the LBSNAA have also initiated inquiries into the allegations of forgery against Khedkar.

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