Puja Khedkar Faked Identity, Parents’ Name, Address, Action Initiated Against Her Says UPSC

The Union Public Service Commission has released a notice regarding the fake identity of Pooja Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate for the Civil Services Examination 2022. She used fake identities to clear the civil services examination, such as fake Parents’s Names and addresses, and even she lied about her visual and mental disabilities. The investigation against her is ongoing, the conclusion came out that Puja Khedkar has exceeded the number of permissible limits as per the examination rules by using fake identities such as changing her name, her father’s & mother’s name, her photograph/ signature, her email ID, mobile number and address. Hence, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has revealed a series of actions against Ms Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, declared her a criminal and has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against her with the Police authorities. In accordance with the Rules of the Civil Services Examination-2022, the commission has cancelled her candidature of the Civil Services Examination-2022/ debarment from future examinations/ selections.

As per the official notice, “It is categorically stated that in fulfilling its Constitutional obligations, the UPSC stringently adheres to its Constitutional mandate, and conducts all its processes, including all examinations, with the highest possible order of due diligence without any compromise. The UPSC has ensured the sanctity and integrity of all its examination processes with the utmost fairness and strict observance of Rules.”

One of the reporters on Friday, Ms Khedkar said, “Now the judiciary will take its course. Whatever questions there are, I will respond to them.”

After when the Maharashtra government filed a case against Puja Khedkar, mainly the Department of Personnel and Training, it took hours to take legal action against her. The report included documents testing Khedkar’s claims of physical disability and OBC (Other Backward Class) status. Also mentioned that she used abusing power during her first posting. Khedkar, who was initially sent to Pune as an assistant collector and later transferred to Washim, was reported to have been given facilities like a siren on his personal car, which is not available to probationary employees. Further allegations surfaced that despite securing a modest all-India rank of 841 in the entrance exam, Khedkar used a fake disability certificate to qualify for the IAS. Her attempts to obtain these credentials were described in length in reports. She was initially rejected by a hospital in Pune but was later accepted by another in Pipri, which determined that she had an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury with left knee instability.”

Some additional charges were filed against Ms Pooja Khedkar under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the IT Act. The UPSC has raised an essential question to her as to why her candidature should not be cancelled. The commission has clarified that further action will be taken against her based on her responses, which may result in barring her from future entrance exams.

Earlier this week when Khedkar was recalled to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand from Washim, on Wednesday she filed a report of “Harassment” against Pune Collector, Suhas Divase late at night in washim. Suhas Divase denied the charges against him by Khedkar and his office published a report featuring screenshots of Khedkar’s WhatsApp conversations with an unnamed official in which she asked for information about benefits that probationary employees were not eligible for. Additionally, Khedkar has charged that the media is holding a “media trial”.

Beyond these all, her entire family are under criminal records, if we talk about her mother, Manorama Khedkar, she is being charged with the crime of attempting to murder as she was caught waving a gun in front of men in a social media video. Her father, Dilip Khedkar, a retired state government officer, as per the records he has been suspended twice in his career on corruption charges, currently both her mother and father are under the poicy custody and a case is running against them all.