IAS Puja Khedkar breaks silence after Centre forms probe panel amid controversy, says ’I will follow...’

IAS Puja Khedkar controversy: IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who is in the eye of a storm over alleged misuse of power, on Friday said she is not authorised to comment on the controversies she and her family are involved in. The probationary assistant collector said she would give her submissions before the committee and follow the procedure.

“I am not authorised to say anything to the media. I will give my submissions before the committee. I will follow the procedure,” Khedkar told media.

The 2023-batch IAS officer, on probation, courted controversy after pictures of an Audi car with a ‘Maharashtra government’ board and a red-blue beacon went viral on social media platforms. She reportedly raised demands for separate house and car privileges not available to junior officers and is also accused of illegally occupying the chamber of an additional collector.

Now, she faces more severe charges that raise questions about her selection process in the civil services. She allegedly misused benefits under the physical disabilities category and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificate.

Raising questions about Khedkar's appointment, Vijay Kumbhar – a Pune-based RTI activist – alleged that the trainee IAS officer did not fall under the OBC non-creamy layer, as she mentioned during the recruitment process. Kumbhar alleged that her father has assets worth ₹40 crore.

Centre forms probe panel

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions said that a committee chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India will verify the candidature claims.

The government said the committee would submit its report in two weeks.

Khedkar has now been shunted to Washim after the Pune District Collector, Suhas Diwse, requested that she be posted in another district and sought action against her.

Diwse reportedly wrote in a report to the General Administration Department that Khedkar demanded a separate cabin, car, and residential quarters to live in.