 "Fake certificates, private car with beacon, and more: The many controversies of trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar")
Pooja Khedkar, a probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Pune, was transferred to Washim in central Maharashtra on Tuesday.
The development came after a controversy erupted over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant.
According to an official order, Khedkar will complete the remaining term of her training in Washim until July 30, 2025, according to Hindustan Times.
The alleged misuse of power
IAS officer (2023-batch) Pooja Khedkar hails from a family with a strong administrative background in Ahmednagar.
According to Mint, she is the daughter of Dilip Khedkar, who served as Commissioner of the Pollution Department in Maharashtra, and her maternal grandfather, Jagannathrao Budhwant, who had a distinguished career as an IAS officer.
Pooja Khedkar was transferred from Pune to Washim after her ‘exploits’ came to light.
As per News18, after joining as a probationary officer in Pune, Khedkar allegedly made several demands, including a VIP number plate for an Audi car, placing a red beacon on the vehicle, and a ‘Government of Maharashtra’ sticker on her private luxury sedan.
Apart from these, she repeatedly demanded a separate cabin, residential quarters, letterheads, and additional staff before joining duty as a trainee on June 3.
She had also been using Pune Additional Collector Ajay More’s office while he was away, and had removed his nameplate and furniture, the report said.
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More ShortsHowever, none of these perks are available for junior officers, who are on probation for 24 months.
According to NDTV, it was her father who allegedly pushed for her demands to be fulfilled.
The local authorities, later, formally voiced concerns over her demands to the state Chief Secretary by Pune Collector Suhas Diwase, prompting her transfer from Pune to Washim, where she assumed the role of Assistant Collector to complete her probationary period.
‘The 2023 batch IAS officer will serve the remaining period of her probation as Supernumerary Assistant Collector in Washim district,” the order stated.
Fake certificates
Khedkar’s appointment in the civil service was initially denied on February 2, 2022, according to Mint.
In response to this failure, she filed an affidavit in court, asserting that she was visually impaired, mentally ill and of the Other Backward Class (OBC).
She had reportedly refused six times, to undergo a mandatory medical test to confirm her disabilities, as per News18.
In April 2022, she was asked to report to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for verification of her disability certificate but she skipped it, citing COVID-19 infection, the official said. Two appointments for the following month and those in July and August were also skipped. In September, she only half-attended a sixth appointment, skipping an MRI test to assess vision loss.
The Union Public Service Commission, which recruits officers for civil services, subsequently challenged her selection, leading the tribunal to deny her relief.
Last year, she introduced her affidavit under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and was ultimately being appointed, despite scoring a relatively low all-India rank of 841 in the uber-competitive Civil Services Exam.
Immovable assets worth crores
According to the Pune Mirror, which cited the statement of assets submitted to the UPSC, the controversial trainee IAS officer possesses immovable assets worth Rs 17 crore.
Khedkar is also accused of adding a non-creamy layer (NCL) certificate despite her father’s wealth, which amounts to Rs 40 crore, and her mother, Manorama’s, Rs 15 crore.
Her parents’ assets includes 900 grammes of gold, diamonds, a gold watch worth 17 lakh rupees, four cars, partnerships in two private limited companies, and one automobile firm, as per India Today. They also possess properties that include shops (1.6 lakh square feet) and seven apartments, including one in Hiranandani, and 110 acres of agricultural land, violating the Agricultural Land Ceiling Act.
As per News18, she has claimed her annual parental income was Rs 8 lakh.
The trainee IAS officer herself possesses property worth 17 crore rupees.
Given her father’s wealth, Khedkar’s eligibility for OBC non-creamy layer status is under question.
Moreover, a mock interview video featuring Khedkar that has surfaced online shows her mentioning that her parents are separated and that she lives with her mother. But, the claim is in contract with her father’s affidavit he submitted while contesting a recent Lok Sabha election from Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi from Nagar South constituency, which doesn’t have any such mention.
IAS Officer Dr.Pooja Khedkar issue needs to be investigated as the huge anger amongst the UPSC/MPSC aspirants. Now this video clip (of her mock interview taken by her coaching academy) gets viral on social media. If what’s she says is true then, she might have escaped the crème… pic.twitter.com/QC873eVXa5
— Ashish Jadhao (@ashish_jadhao) July 10, 2024
Criticism
Her activities as a probationary officer and their appropriateness have been the subject of a heated discussion both on social media and in administrative circles.
Mystery deepens in IAS Dr Pooja Khedkar fraudulent disability & OBC creamy layer certificate submission case. In 2021, Pooja selected as Assistant Director in sport authority in OBC PwBD 1 but in 2023, she mysteriously chanced her category 4m PwBD1 to PwBD5 & got selected as IAS. pic.twitter.com/YenyFy1cMq
— Sudhir Suryawanshi (@ss_suryawanshi) July 10, 2024
RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said Pooja Khedkar became an IAS officer from the OBC non-creamy layer category, but her father’s election affidavit showed his wealth to be worth Rs 40 crore.
“How can such income fall into the non-creamy layer? She has admitted to being mentally ill and a person with multiple disabilities. However, she skipped medical examinations several times. How did she qualify for IAS? These are big questions,” the activist said, as per India Today.
PMO seeks report
Two days after her transfer over the alleged misuse of power, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has sought a report on the matter from the Pune collector, according to Hindustan Times sources.
This comes at the same time when the controversy has further intensified with the Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LSBNAA) seeking a report from the state’s general administration.
With inputs from agencies
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