Maharashtra: Pune Rural police arrests trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar's mother in illegal arms case

The Pune Rural Police on Thursday arrested and detained Manorama Khedkar, mother of the controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in illegal arms case. She was arrested from Mahad near Raigad district, where she was staying in a hotel. Three teams of police personnel are coming to Pune with Manorama Khedkar, India Today reported. 

Manorama Khedkar was last in the news for a viral video wherein she can be seen threatening farmers in Pune's Mulshi taluka with a pistol. Her husband and former IAS officer Dilip Khedkar allegedly amassed wealth and bought 25 acres of land in Mulshi taluka.

The Khedkar family, however, tried to increase their land holdings by trying to encroach a neighbouring land. An FIR was registered against her at the Paud police station under sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC.

Charges under the Arms Act were also filed against her. An FIR was also registered against Dilip Khedkar and 5 others, according to newswire ANI. 

Meanwhile, villagers of Bhalgaon in Pathardi taluka, the native village of Manorama Khedkar, said recently in a statement to the Collector of Ahmednagar that she is being defamed and warned of a strong agitation from Bhalgaon to Mumbai if this is not stopped, as per media reports.

They said in the letter that Manorama Khedkar transformed Bhalgaon when she was the sarpanch of the village. The statement further said that on June 5 last year around noon, some gangsters attempted to attack Khedkar in the Mulshi area with sticks and sharp waists. 

They further claimed that her security guards tried to disperse the crowd but failed to do so. She then pulled out a licensed pistol for self-defense, as per the villagers and that the present allegations amount to defamation of the Khedkar family. 

The statement further said that the village delegation will meet Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, seeking a transparent probe into the incident.