A police report was filed against the parents of IAS officer Puja Khedkar following the viral release of a video purportedly featuring Manorama Khedkar brandishing a gun at a group of guys.
Based on a complaint by a farmer who claimed that Manorama had threatened him, the Pune Rural Police filed a formal complaint against Manorama Khedkar, Dilip Khedkar, the parents of controversial trainee IAS official Puja Khedkar, and five other people on Saturday, news agency ANI reported.
At the Paud police station, the FIR was filed on Friday night under sections 323, 504, and 506 of the IPC. Additionally, charges under the Arms Act have been included, senior police inspector Manoj Yadav said ANI.
The notorious official Puja Khedkar’s problems were exacerbated when a video of Manorama Khedkar frightening a group of men with a gun went viral and prompted the filing of a formal complaint. Later on Friday night, the Pune Rural Police announced that an investigation would start to find out the details, including whether or not she had a permission to carry the gun.
An FIR has been filed by the police against Manorama and Dilip Khedkar, as well as the parents of Pooja Khedkar, a trainee IAS officer, and five other individuals. A local farmer filed a police report at Paud police station Friday night, claiming that Manoram Khedkar had threatened him. The Pune Rural Police added, “Charges under the Arms Act have also been included.”
What’s the case?
According to a police official, the incident in the video concerned a piece of land in Dhadwali village in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil that Puja Khedkar’s father, retired Maharashtra government officer Dilip Khedkar, had purchased. The Khedkars were accused by the locals of encroaching on nearby farmers’ land.
In the two-minute video, Puja Khedkar’s mother Manorama Khedkar is seen fighting angrily with her neighbors while being escorted by her security officers. There’s a video of Manorama Khedkar brandishing a pistol at a man. She approaches him, flashes the gun in his face, and then puts it away in her hand.
“We are aware of the footage that is doing the rounds on social media. We will begin a probe as soon as the facts are determined. We will look into whether Manorama Khedkar has a permit to possess the gun,” a top Pune Rural police official was reported by news agency PTI as saying.
Regarding the incident, farmer Kuldeep Pasalkar said Manorama Khedkar was attempting to take his land by force. “She has also been making threats against other farmers. Kuldeep Pasalkar claimed, “She came to my plot with a few security guards and began threatening us while carrying a firearm.”
Who is Puja Khedkar?
Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer from Maharashtra’s 2023 batch, is facing allegations of using her UPSC application to pretend to be an OBC non-creamy layer candidate. She also insisted that she was intellectually and visually impaired, but she wouldn’t accept tests to support her assertions.
The Union government established a one-member committee on Thursday to confirm Puja Khedkar’s candidacy and other information in the wake of a dispute over her purported abuse of authority while serving as a public servant.
The Ministry of Personnel declared in a statement that the committee will deliver its report in two weeks and that its chairman is a senior officer holding the position of additional secretary in the central government.
“A single-member committee headed by a senior officer holding the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India has been established by the Central Government to confirm IAS Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar’s candidacies and other information. Khedkar is a candidate for the Civil Services Examination 2022 and previous CSEs. The announcement from the ministry of personnel states, “The Committee will submit its report in two weeks.”
