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- Pune IAS Puja Khedkar Certificate Controversy | Delhi High Court Hearing Anticipatory Bail Plea
New Delhi20 minutes ago
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Pooja was a trainee IAS of 2023 batch. She got 841st rank in CSE-2022. She was training since June 2024.
Delhi High Court will hear the anticipatory bail plea of former trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar today. Pooja is accused of fraud and wrongly taking advantage of OBC and disability quota. Pooja’s plea is to be heard in the bench of Justice Subramaniam Prasad.
Khedkar had given wrong information in his application for UPSC Civil Services Examination 2022 to avail reservation benefits. On July 31, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled Khedkar’s candidature and disqualified him from all future exams.
On August 1, the Patiala House Court refused to grant her anticipatory bail and said that there are serious allegations against her which should be investigated. Challenging this decision, Pooja approached the Delhi High Court.
UPSC had registered an FIR against Pooja Khedkar, a trainee IAS officer of the 2023 batch, for appearing in the civil services exam more than the prescribed limit by changing her identity.
First
The court had said- it was not possible to execute the conspiracy without help
Patiala House Court had said in the hearing on August 1 that this case is only a small part. To find out the whole conspiracy and to investigate the involvement of the people involved in it, it is necessary to interrogate the accused in custody.
Sessions Judge Devendra Kumar Jangla ordered the Delhi Police to conduct a fair investigation to find out which candidates were recommended in the recent past who might have availed such benefits illegally. Also find out if any UPSC insider had helped Khedkar.
However, Pooja had said in her defence that she has been framed. She has become a victim of media trial and witch-hunt. The court said that Pooja’s argument is not tenable as there is sufficient evidence on record. The conspiracy was hatched with full preparation. It was executed over several years. This was not possible alone, without the help of any outsider or insider.
Where did the commission fail to identify the fraud of Puja
Due to Khedkar’s case, UPSC examined the data of more than 15,000 recommended candidates from 2009 to 2023. It was found that apart from him, no other candidate had given more attempts than the prescribed number of attempts under the CSE rules. The case of Pooja Manorama Dilip Khedkar was unique.
He had appeared in the exam several times by changing not only his name but also his parents’ names, so the UPSC’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) could not track the number of his attempts. The UPSC is in the process of strengthening its SOP so that such cases do not recur in the future.
How Pooja’s case came to light; she reached office in an Audi car with red light and threatened a senior officer
The Audi car on which Pooja used to move around during her posting, having a red-blue light and a Maharashtra government sticker, has a fine of Rs 26,000 pending on it.
Pooja was undergoing training as a trainee officer in Pune. During this time, she was accused of demanding privileges. A complaint was also lodged against her of occupying the chamber of a senior officer. She got a red light and a plate of ‘Maharashtra Government’ installed on her personal Audi car.
Pune District Collector Suhas Divase had complained against Pooja, after which she was transferred to Washim. After this, when the matter was investigated, it was found that she had also used fake documents to get selected in UPSC. After this, when the investigation against her started, many revelations were made.
4 disputes related to disability certificate
- In the disability certificate, Pooja Khedkar’s address was written as ‘Plot No. 53, Dehu Alandi Road, Talawade, Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune’. However, there is no house at this address, but a factory named Thermoverta Engineering Company. Pooja’s Audi which was seized was registered in the name of this company.
- As per government norms, Aadhaar card is mandatory for making a disability certificate, but ration card was used in Pooja’s certificate.
- After getting selected in UPSC through disabled quota, many disability certificates of Pooja have come to light. Pooja Khedkar had submitted two disability certificates issued by Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital to UPSC in 2018 and 2021.
- Pooja had taken several appointments for medical examination in Delhi to confirm her disability certificate, but later she submitted the report prepared in a private hospital to UPSC.
- Yashwant Rao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital has clarified that there was no mistake in making Pooja Khedkar’s locomotor certificate. Pooja was shown to have 7% locomotor disability in the certificate. The hospital is run by Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
- In an affidavit given to UPSC, Pooja had claimed that she is mentally challenged and also has problems in seeing. Pooja had refused to take the medical test 6 times, whereas it is mandatory to take the medical test.
- According to several media reports, Pooja’s first medical test was scheduled at Delhi AIIMS in April 2022. She refused to attend it citing being Covid positive.
Pooja is also accused of taking advantage of OBC non-creamy layer quota
Pooja has also been accused of taking advantage of the OBC non-creamy layer quota by hiding information about her parents’ marital status. Pooja’s father Dilip Khedkar is a retired IAS officer. He had also contested elections. In the affidavit, he had declared his assets to be Rs 40 crore. Pooja had declared the family’s assets to be less than Rs 8 lakh.
A video of Pooja is going viral in which she has claimed that her parents are divorced. Her father no longer lives with her, so she now falls under the OBC non-creamy layer category. According to Pune Police, UPSC has sought the marital status report of Pooja’s parents.
Pooja Khedkar’s mother accused of threatening farmers, sent to 14-day custody
In the viral video, Manorama Khedkar was accompanied by security guards. Manorama was seen threatening the farmers. The incident took place in Dhadavali village of Mulshi taluka of Pune.
On the other hand, Pooja Khedkar’s mother Manorama Khedkar was arrested by the police a few days ago on charges of threatening farmers with a pistol and grabbing land. Pune Police produced her in the Magistrate Court on Monday, from where she has been sent to 14 days judicial custody.
A video of Manorama from 2023 went viral on social media. In the video, Manorama was seen threatening a farmer with a pistol over land. After the video surfaced, when there was a demand for action against her, she absconded.
She hid in a lodge in Mahad, Raigad with her driver. She told the driver that he was her son. Manorama used a fake Aadhar card to book a room in the lodge. The police arrested her from this lodge on 18 July.
Earlier on July 19, in the same case, the Sessions Court had granted interim bail to Pooja Khedkar’s father Dilip Kondiba Khedkar till July 25.
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