Puja Khedkar’s parents flee after gun threat video; Pune hospital denies receiving IAS officer’s disability certificate

IAS officer Puja Khedkar's parents have been on the run, police officers said on Monday. Pune Rural Police registered an FIR on July 13 against Puja Khedkar's parents after an old video showing her mother threatening a farmer with a gun went viral. Pune Police said Puja Khedkar's parents had switched off their phones.

“The accused are on the run. We are trying to contact them (Puja Khedkar's parents), but they are not reachable as their phones are switched off. We also reached their residence, but they are unavailable,” Pankaj Deshmukh, SP, Pune Rural, told news agency ANI.

Manorama Khedkar and Dilip Khedkar, parents of controversial IAS officer Puja Khedkar, have been under the scanner and on the radar of Pune Police after a farmer claimed Manorama Khedkar threatened him.

A widely circulated video shows Manorama Khedkar allegedly wielding a firearm and making threats to villagers in Mulshi taluka, Pune district. Police have stated that the incident captured in the video occurred in June 2023.

The family, through their lawyer, claimed Manorama Khedkar used the gun seen in the video to avoid further escalation of the argument and in self-defence. They also said they have all valid permissions for weapon possession.

Manorama Khedkar also received a show cause notice from the Pune Police, asking why her gun licence should not be cancelled following the complaint by a farmer over the alleged gun threat.

Further development has also occurred in this multifaceted case. Arvind Bhore, Director, Shrimati Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital, informed that trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar was admitted in 2007 through the Common Entrance Test (CET).

Arvind Bhore attested that Puja Khedkar had submitted some reservation certificates, including a ‘caste certificate, caste validity and non-creamy layer certificate.’

“She also submitted the certificate of medical fitness, which does not mention any disability there,” Bhore informed.