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'Media trial proving me guilty is wrong': Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar

by TRANS WORLD FEATURES | @twfindia 16 Jul 2024, 01:43 am

New Delhi/IBNS: IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, caught up in a massive controversy over alleged misuse of power and privileges, has accused the 'media trial' of proving her guilty and said it is "wrong".

The 34-year-old faces accusations of using fraudulent means to clear her civil services exam, including allegedly misrepresenting herself under the physical disabilities and non-creamy layer of OBC categories.

"Our Indian Constitution is based on the fact of innocence until proven guilty. So, the media trial proving me guilty is actually wrong. It is the basic right of everyone. You can say it is alleged but proving me guilty like this is wrong," she said, speaking to the media.

Khedkar said she would testify in front of the expert committee and will "accept the decision of the committee".

"Whatever my submission is, I will give it in front of the committee and the truth will come out," she said.

Apart from using a siren on her car, VIP number plates, and a sticker saying Government of Maharashtra, Khedkar had also been found using Pune Additional Collector Ajay More's office while he was away. She reportedly removed his nameplate and furniture and even demanded letterheads.

None of these perks are available for junior officers on probation for 24 months. According to reports, her father, a retired administrative officer, had pushed for her demands to be fulfilled.

Apart from the disability claims, inconsistencies were also found in Khedkar's claims to OBC non-creamy layer status.

Questions were raised about her appointment in the civil services after a Pune RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar alleged that she did not fall under the OBC non-creamy layer as her father had assets worth Rs. 40 crore.

"As per the rules, only those come under the OBC non-creamy layer category whose parents are under 8 lac per annum of income, but their income shows that it is 40 crore. Her parents contested the recent Lok Sabha polls and all the property details are there in the affidavit," he said.

The falsified statements and allowances gained allowed Khedkar to pass the uber-competitive Civil Services Exam despite scoring a relatively low all-India rank of 841.

Khedkar was transferred from Pune to Washim after her 'exploits' - including the use of a siren on her private vehicle, an Audi luxury sedan - came to light.

Pune Collector Suhas Divase had written to the Chief Secretary of the Maharashtra government to request Puja Khedkar's reassignment.

She was later transferred to Washim district.

“My job here as a probationer is to work and learn and that is what I am doing. I cannot make any comments on that (the probe). Whenever the decision of the committee comes, it will be public and open to scrutiny. But right now I don't have any right to tell you about the investigation going on,” she said speaking to reporters.