Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Files Harassment Complaint Against Pune District Collector
Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar has filed a police complaint alleging harassment against Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase. According to an official, women police personnel visited Khedkar at her residence in Washim on Monday to take her statement regarding the harassment complaint. Khedkar gained attention after reports emerged that she had demanded perks and facilities beyond her entitlement as a trainee IAS officer during her tenure as an assistant collector in Pune.
Suhas Diwase, the Pune District Collector, was the one who formally reported Khedkar’s misconduct to the state chief secretary. In a comprehensive report dated June 24, Diwase detailed Khedkar’s sense of entitlement and behavioral issues during her probation period. The report highlighted her extravagant demands and alleged that her father, Deelip Khedkar, a retired IAS officer, intimidated district staff to fulfill her requests. Diwase mentioned that Khedkar refused an offered office chamber because it lacked an attached bathroom and recommended that continuing her training in Pune would lead to administrative problems. Following this report, the state government transferred the 32-year-old probationary officer to Washim district as a supernumerary assistant collector.
The Maharashtra government recently announced that Khedkar’s district training program has been put on hold amid allegations of her forging disability certificates to clear her civil services examination. She has been summoned back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie by July 23 for necessary action. A letter from Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Nitin Gadre, instructed her to join the academy no later than July 23, 2024.
Khedkar, a 2023-batch officer, faces serious accusations of using fraudulent means to pass her civil services exam, including allegedly forging Other Backward Classes (OBC) non-creamy layer (NCL) certificates and disability certificates. She had submitted multiple medical certificates to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), one of which indicated visual impairment under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) provision. In response, the Union government established a one-member committee to verify her candidature, with instructions to submit a report within two weeks. Additionally, both the Maharashtra chief secretary’s office and the director’s office of the LBSNAA have launched inquiries into the allegations of forgery against Khedkar.
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Author:- Apoorva Arora