Police Send Report on Marriage of Puja Khedkar's Parents to Govt

Pune Police has sent a report about the marital status of the parents of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar to the Maharashtra government, an official said on Friday.

The couple, Dilip and Manorama Khedkar, were “legally separated”, the police official told PTI, without disclosing more details.

The Union government had directed Pune Police to apprise it of the marital status of Puja’s parents amid allegations that she fraudulently availed of the OBC non-creamy layer benefit in the UPSC exam by claiming that they were separated.

“We sent the report to the state government on Wednesday and it will be forwarded to the Centre,” said the officer.

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, was accused of misusing power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled to while serving on probation in Pune.

A criminal case was registered against her in Delhi last week for allegedly “misrepresenting and falsifying facts”. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has also issued a show-cause notice regarding the cancellation of her candidature for the 2022 examination and is considering barring her from future exams.

In order to avail of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC examination, Khedkar reportedly claimed that her parents were separated and she was living with her mother.

During a mock interview before she cracked UPSC, Khedkar was asked why her family income was shown as ‘zero’ when her father was a civil servant. In a video of the interview that went viral, she is heard saying that her parents were separated, and she was not in contact with him.

As per the rules, only those candidates whose parents’ income is under Rs 8 lakh per annum can take benefit of the OBC non-creamy layer category.

Manorama Khedkar is currently in jail for allegedly threatening a person with a gun in 2023 over a land dispute. Dilip Khedkar, a retired government officer, is also an accused in the case, and was granted anticipatory bail by a court in Pune on Thursday.