The Centre on Tuesday directed Pune Police to provide details of the marital status of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar's parents -- father and former civil servant Dilip Khedkar and mother Manorama Khedkar. The Centre has asked the cops to apprise it of whether the probationary IAS officer's parents were divorced or not, newswire PTI reported citing a senior official.
Khedkar allegedly fraudulently availed the OBC non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC exam by saying that her parents are separated. She had also claimed that she was living with her mother.
"We have been asked to find out and inform to the central government about whether Puja Khedkar's parents were divorced. In a nutshell, it has asked us to verify the actual status of their marriage/divorce," the official said.
In a viral video of her mock interview, Puja Khedkar was questioned on why she showed her family income as 'zero' even when her father is a retired civil servant. To this, she replies that her parents are separated and that she was living with her mother.
According to the rules, only those aspirants whose parents' annual income is Rs 8 lakh per annum can avail the OBC non-creamy layer quota. Meanwhile, the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) registered a police case against the probationary IAS officer for using the OBC non-creamy layer quota fraudulently.
The UPSC also issued a show cause notice for the cancellation of Puja Khedkar's candidature and her debarment from future exams and selections.
Puja Khedkar, the 2023-batch IAS probationer from Maharashtra, is accused of misusing power and privileges by demanding facilities she was not entitled to as a trainee in Pune collectorate. Furthermore, she is also accused of bullying people around her.
Due to these allegations, her training in Maharashtra was put on hold and she was called back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. She made it to national headlines for putting a red-blue beacon and also writing 'Maharashtra Government' on the number plate of a privately-owned Audi car.