IAS trainee Puja Khedkar row: First fake disability certificate, now a fake ration card on a fake address, documents reveal

The controversy surrounding trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar is getting tangled day after day. At the latest, it was revealed that Khedkar secured a fake disability certificate by providing the wrong address and a fake ration card. India Today has accessed the exclusive documents.

In the address that she submitted, Khedkar had claimed 'Plot No. 53, Dehu-Alandi, Talwade' to the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital was her residential address, which was located in Pune's Pimpri-Chinchwad area. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the address she provided did not belong to her; instead, it belonged to a now-defunct organisation called Thermoverita Engineering Pvt Ltd. It was not a residential property. 

The documents she submitted also had a fake ration card that was also made using the same false address. Khedkar had reportedly used this ration card to receive a disability certificate where she had claimed to have a locomotor disability. The disability certificate was issued to Khedkar in August 2022, which stated that she had around seven per cent disability in her knee.

In addition, the same Thermoverita firm is the registered owner of an Audi vehicle. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipality's tax collection department claims that this firm owes them Rs 2.7 lakh for the previous three years.

Meanwhile, as the row around the forged documents and other cases escalated, Puja Khedkar's training in Maharashtra was cancelled. She is being investigated for allegedly forging disability certificates to pass the Civil Services examination.

The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie has decided to pause Puja Dilip Khedkar's District Training Program and has called her back immediately for further action.

An official notice from LBSNAA dated July 16 states that Puja Khedkar, currently the Supernumerary Assistant Collector in Washim, Maharashtra, has been relieved from her training duties in Maharashtra.

Puja Khedkar is accused of intimidating police officers and abusing her position of authority to obtain special treatment, in addition to forging credentials.

On the other hand, on Tuesday night, the state headquarters received a comprehensive report on the property assets of Dilip Khedkar, the father of Puja Khedkar, from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Pune.

Before retiring in 2020, Dilip Khedkar oversaw the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). During his time there, he is accused of accumulating excessive wealth. After higher authorities have reviewed the results, more action is anticipated.