Pune Rural Police on Friday registered an FIR against Manoram Khedkar and Dilip Khedkar, the parents of Maharashtra cadre IAS officer Dr. Puja Khedkar, and five others.
This comes after a complaint from a local farmer who alleged that he was threatened by Manoram Khedkar. The FIR has been filed under sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC. Charges under the Arms Act have also been included, said Manoj Yadav, Senior Police Inspector, Paud Police Station.
Puja Khedkar, who is facing an array of allegations ranging from aggressive treatment of junior staff, illegal occupation of the ante-chamber of Additional Collector Ajay More, misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the IAS, and illegally using a red-blue beacon on her private vehicle, has been transferred to Washim District Collectorate as an assistant collector.
Amid the ongoing row, a video surfaced on social media in which the IAS officer's mother, Manorama Khedkar, is seen threatening a farmer with a gun.
According to local media reports, the Khedkar family purchased 25 acres of land in Mulshi taluka of Pune district. Allegedly, they attempted to encroach on the neighbouring farmer's land. When the farmer objected, Manorama Khedkar arrived with bouncers and threatened him while brandishing a gun.
Shockingly, when the farmers tried to file a complaint at Paud police station in Pune, their complaint was not registered due to "pressure from the top", added reports.
Centre forms committee to probe allegations against Puja
The Centre on Thursday constituted a single-member committee to investigate the eligibility of the controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, following allegations that she exploited the disability and Other Backward Class quotas to obtain her position in the service.
An additional secretary-rank officer will lead the probe to examine the validity of her candidature and other pertinent details of the 2023 batch officer, who has been assigned to the Maharashtra cadre.
