Hours after controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar's district training was put on hold, she registered a harassment case against the Pune Collector who had ordered her transferred o Washim.
Pune Collector Suhas Divase had first reported her alleged misuse of power to the Maharashtra government and subsequently, she was transferred to Washim. Khedkar had demanded a separate cabin, a beacon car and other facilities which she was not entitled as a trainee official.
Khedkar asked to return to Mussoorie
A letter by Maharashtra additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre said the Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri academy had decided to put her district training programme on hold, and immediately recalled her.
“It is informed that Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie has decided to keep your District Training Program on hold and immediately recall you for further necessary action. Therefore, you are hereby relieved from District Training Programme of State Government of Maharashtra. The letter from the Academy is attached herewith. You are instructed to join the Academy at the earliest but not later than 23rd July, 2024 under any circumstances,” a letter stated.
While Khedkar, whose disability as well as OBC certificates are under the scanner, maintained that she was a victim of misinformation and “fake news”, Pune Police said they would check the authenticity of the disability certificates she had submitted to the UPSC.
When contacted, Washim collector Bhuvaneshwari S said Khedkar was immediately relieved as `supernumerary' assistant collector.
Earlier in the day, a senior government doctor said she had obtained a “locomotor disability” certificate in August 2022.
“She applied for disability certification about her left limb knee joint back in 2022. She visited here for medical examinations and was assessed by multiple departments,” said Dr Rajendra Wable, dean of the government-run Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital at Pimpri near Pune.
“It was found that she has a seven per cent locomotor disability,” he added.
The certificate, issued on August 24, 2022, stated that she had seven per cent disability in the knee. Khedkar had earlier submitted two certificates, provided by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital in 2018 and 2021, to the UPSC under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category.
Additionally, she had applied for a disability certificate from the Aundh government hospital in Pune in August 2022, but after medical tests her application was rejected.
Speaking to reporters in Washim, Khedkar said she had been the victim of a misinformation campaign. Fake news was being published about her every day, she said.
“Misinformation is being spread and I am facing a lot of defamation. I want to request the media to behave responsibly and not to spread misinformation,” she added.
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