The Centre on Thursday set up a single-member panel to investigate the candidature of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar. Khedkar has been accused of misusing the disability and Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota to secure a candidature in the service.
In a statement, the Centre said that an additional secretary-rank officer would conduct the probe to verify the candidature and other details of the probationary IAS officer, who was allotted the Maharashtra cadre. The committee will submit the report in 2 weeks, as per the statement.
She grabbed the national headlines when she was transferred to Washim due to alleged misuse of power. Khedkar sought special privileges from the Collector's office that were not sanctioned for her designation.
She arrived at her Washim office on Thursday in a Bolero car, a massive downgrade from the Audi with the red beacon light that she was first spotted with.
Khedkar, however, refused to address the accusations, saying that the government regulations prohibit her from doing so. "I am not authorised to speak on the issue. Government rules don't provide (allow) me to speak on this," she told reporters.
The Puja Khedkar saga
She claimed to be visually impaired and mentally ill in the affidavit submitted to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Due to these certificates, she cleared the exam despite her low marks and secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 821.
After Puja was selected, she was asked to undergo medical tests to ascertain her claims of disabilities. She, however, refused to attend these examinations on 6 different occasions.
First, she did not attend the 5 scheduled medical examinations between April 22, 2022 and August 26, 2022. Later, she did not show up for a crucial MRI on September 2 that was to be conducted to assess the extent of her vision loss.
She later submitted an MRI report from an external centre, which the UPSC rejected. The UPSC challenged her selection in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which ruled against Puja Khedkar on February 23 last year. Her MRI certificate, however, was accepted later, confirming her appointment as an IAS officer.