What started with a letetr from Pune Collector to the general administration department of Maharashtra abut her behoviour, has let to several other revelations about IAS probationer Dr Puja Khedkar. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday cancelled the provisional candidature of Puja Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 and permanently debarred her from all future exams and selections.
Now, from the official document it has come to notice that she changes name thrice like Puja Deelip Khedkar, Khedkar Puja Deeliprao, Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar. Additionally, she also changed the spellings of the name of her mother and father and even used the paternal surname of her mother.
Check the details as below:
Here's what UPSC said
The UPSC says it examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules. Her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 has been cancelled and she has also been debarred permanently from all future Examinations of the UPSC.
In the backdrop of this case, the UPSC has thoroughly examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the CSEs from the year 2009 to 2023 concerning the number of attempts availed by them.
The UPSC says that barring the case of Puja Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules. The UPSC says that in the case of Puja Khedkar, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UPSC could not detect her number of attempts primarily because she changed not only her name but also her parents' name.
The UPSC says it is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future.
Delhi court denies anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar
Meanwhile, a court in Delhi on Thursday turned down the anticipatory bail plea of former Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the Civil Services Examinations (CSE) by faking her identity.
Widening the scope of the probe, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala asked the Delhi Police to investigate if other people recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) have availed quota benefits without entitlement. Further, the court asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar. On Wednesday, the UPSC cancelled Khedkar's provisional candidature for CSE-2022, and permanently debarred her from all future exams/selections.
