New Delhi18 minutes ago
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UPSC had registered an FIR against 2023 batch trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar for appearing in the civil services exam more than the prescribed limit by changing her identity.
Former trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar has challenged the decision of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to cancel her candidature. Pooja has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court on Monday (August 5). The hearing on this will be held on Wednesday (August 7).
UPSC had cancelled the selection of Pooja Khedkar on 31st July. Pooja was accused of giving wrong information about her age, parents and giving civil services exam more than the prescribed number of times by changing her identity.
UPSC found Pooja guilty after examining the documents. After the selection was cancelled, Pooja lost her official position. She is barred from appearing in any UPSC exam in future. Pooja was a trainee IAS of the 2023 batch. She got 841st rank in CSE-2022. She was training since June 2024.
UPSC had issued a statement on July 31 informing about the cancellation of Pooja Khedkar’s selection.
UPSC said- Pooja was given time twice, but she did not respond
- Pooja broke the rules: UPSC issued a statement on July 31 stating that a show cause notice (SCN) was issued on July 18 for appearing in the civil services exam more than the prescribed limit by changing identity. It said that Pooja had to submit her reply by July 25, but she sought time till August 4 to collect the necessary documents for her reply. The commission said, she was again given time till 3:30 pm on July 30, but she did not respond.
- 15,000 data checked, not sure how many attempts Pooja gave: Due to Khedkar’s case, UPSC examined the data of more than 15,000 recommended candidates from 2009 to 2023. It was found that no other candidate except her had given more attempts than the prescribed number of attempts under the CSE rules. The case of Miss Pooja Manorama Dilip Khedkar was unique. She had appeared in the exam several times by changing not only her name but also the names of her parents, so the UPSC’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) could not detect the number of her attempts. UPSC is in the process of strengthening its SOP further so that such cases do not happen again in 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.
Read these news also…
IAS Pooja Khedkar has property worth 22 crores: She earns 42 lakhs annually; The Audi on which she got a red-blue light installed, has a challan of 26 thousand
Pooja Khedkar is the owner of property worth around 17-22 crores. In the details of her immovable property given to the government before joining in the year 2023, Pooja told that she bought 2 plots in Mhalunge, Pune in 2015. In this, she bought one plot for Rs 42 lakh 25 thousand and the other plot for Rs 43 lakh 50 thousand. Currently, the market value of both the plots is between 6 to 8 crores rupees. Read full news here…
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