The controversy around trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar is simply refusing to die down. The Central government ordered Pune police to investigate the marital status of the IAS probationer's parents -- father Dilip and mother Manorama Khedkar.
Puja Khedkar allegedly misused the OBC non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC by falsely claiming that her parents are separated. During her mock interviews, she claimed that her parents were divorced and she lived with her mother.
Turns out that was not entirely true. The trainee IAS officer's parents -- Dilip and Manorama Khedkar filed for divorce by mutual consent in Pune's family court in 2009. The divorce got finalised on June 25, 2010. Despite their divorce, the two were allegedly living together in a bungalow in Pune's Baner area. The bungalow was owned by Manorama Khedkar, India Today reported.
Moreover, Dilip Khedkar mentioned Manorama as his wife and declared them as an undivided Hindu family in his Lok Sabha election affidavit. Dilip and Manorama's participation in public events as a married couple have also been noted.
He declared his net worth as being more than Rs 40 crore and also detailled the couple's shared properties in his affidavit.
Dilip Khedkar, a retired government officer, contested the Lok Sabha elections 2024 on a Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) ticket. He lost to NCP (SP)'s Nilesh Dnyandev Lanke by a margin of more than 6 lakh votes from Maharashtra's Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency.
Meanwhile, Puja Khedkar failed to report to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie a day after the deadline. After allegations of misuse of power and demanding privileges against the trainee IAS officer surfaced, Khedkar was asked to report back to the IAS academy by July 23.
Manorama Khedkar is currently lodged in a jail for criminal intimidation. Pune rural police arrested her for threatening a farmer with a gun in 2023. Dilip Khedkar is also an accused in the same case. He has received an interim protection from a Pune court till July 25.
(With inputs from Omkar Wable)