Why is Pune Police looking for trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar’s parents?

Probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Khedkar has continued to be in the headlines over allegations of abuse of power, faking her disability and questions about her Other Backward Class (OBC) certificate. Now, her family has also come under scrutiny.

The Maharashtra Police are looking for her parents, who it says are on the run. But why are the police after Pooja Khedkar’s parents?

We will explain.

Pooja’s mother’s viral gun video

Last week, an old video of Pooja Khedkar ’s mother, Manorama Khedkar, surfaced where she was seen wielding a pistol during an argument over a land dispute in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil.

The clip, said to be from last June, showed Manorama, who is the sarpanch of Bhalgaon village in Maharashtra, allegedly threatening a farmer with the gun.

According to an India Today report, Manorama shouted at a man in Marathi that the document maintained by the state revenue department for tax collection purposes was in her name.

“You may be the real owner… but this place is also in my name… So what if the matter is in court? I will see how you take everything. I am not afraid of anyone," she said.

To this, the farmer pointed out that the matter was in court. “But madam, the court’s decision has not come yet. I am still the real owner of this place,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

The two-minute video went viral amid the public and media glare on Pooja’s actions.

An FIR was lodged against Manorama, her husband Dilip Khedkar and five others under relevant sections of the Bharatiya (Second) Nyay Sanhita, 2023 and section 323 (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property) on a complaint by the farmer she allegedly threatened.

Dilip, a retired Maharashtra government officer, had reportedly bought 25 acres of land in Mulshi tehsil. There are allegations he amassed property worth crores of rupees and purchased land at many locations.

Manorama has also been booked under the Arms Act. As per India Today, the police will investigate if she had a license to own a firearm.

When farmers had previously tried to lodge a complaint, their pleas went unheard and the police “refused” to file the complaint, reported The Hindu.

Pooja’s parents ‘on the run’

The Pune Rural Police on Monday (July 15) said its officers have been “unable to trace” the couple despite visiting the Khedkar residence yesterday and Monday.

A senior official said that a team visited the bungalow of the Khedkar family in the Baner area of Pune in the morning but could not enter as there was no response and doors were locked from the inside, reported PTI.

“A case has been registered at Paud police station. But the Khedkars have not visited the police station for inquiry and have turned off their mobile phones. Our teams are looking for them. Once found, they will be questioned, and legal action will be taken against them,” the official said.

Pune Rural SP Pankaj Deshmukh told ANI that the accused couple is “on the run”. He said several teams are searching for them in Pune and nearby places where they have farmhouses and other residences.

The cops are also looking for guards and others seen in the viral video.

Manorama was issued a show cause notice on Sunday by the police asking her why her gun licence should not be revoked, reported India Today. The Pune civic body has also asked her to remove “unauthorised structures” near her bungalow’s boundary wall within a week.

Speaking to the media today, Pooja refused to comment on the case against her parents, saying the “rules do not allow me to say anything”.

How Pooja shot to limelight

Pooja Khedkar gained the spotlight after Pune collector Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra chief secretary Sujata Saunik, saying the trainee “sought special privileges, which were not allowed to an IAS probationary officer.”

According to him, Pooja demanded a separate cabin, an official car, residential quarters and a peon before joining work at the collectorate. He flagged that she was on a two-year probation and not entitled to these benefits.

The 2023-batch IAS officer was found to be using a beacon on her private Audi car. She is also accused of allegedly availing of Other Backward Class (OBC) benefits for her appointment as a trainee IAS officer while belonging to a well-to-do family.

Her disability claim of suffering from “blindness and mental illness” which gave her concessions under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities category is also under scanner.

Amid the controversy, Pooja has been transferred from the Pune district collector’s office to Washim. The Centre has formed a single-member committee to probe the allegations against her.

With inputs from agencies