Maharashtra: FIR against IAS officer Puja Khedkar's mother Manorama after gun video
FIR against the parents of IAS officer Puja Khedkar was registered after a video showing Manorama Khedkar threatening some men with a gun has gone viral.
The Pune Rural Police has registered an FIR against Manorama Khedkar, Dilip Khedkar, the parents of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, and five others based on a complaint by a farmer who alleged that he was threatened by Manorama, news agency ANI reported on Saturday.
The FIR under sections 323, 504, 506 of IPC was registered on Friday night at the Paud police station. Charges under the Arms Act have also been included, ANI quoted Manoj Yadav, senior police inspector, as saying.
The FIR was registered after a video showing Manorama Khedkar threatening a group of men with a gun has gone viral, adding to the woes of the controversial bureaucrat Puja Khedkar. The Pune Rural Police on later Friday evening said a probe would begin to ascertain facts, including if she possessed a licence for the firearm.
“The Police have registered an FIR against Manorama Khedkar, Dilip Khedkar, parents of trainee IAS officer Pooja Khedkar and five others. The FIR was filed last night at Paud police station based on the complaint of a local farmer who alleged that he was threatened by Manoram Khedkar. Charges under the Arms Act have also been included,” said the Pune Rural Police.
What's the case?
A police official said the incident in the video was about a land parcel bought by Puja Khedkar's father Dilip Khedkar, a retired Maharashtra government officer, in Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil. Locals had claimed the Khedkars had encroached on the land of neighbouring farmers.
Watch the video here:
The two-minute video shows Puja Khedkar's mother Manorama Khedkar, accompanied by her security guards, engaged in a heated argument with the neighbours. Manorama Khedkar can be seen yelling at a man with a pistol in her hand. She walks up to him and waves the gun in his face before concealing it in her hand.
"We have taken cognisance of the video that is circulating on social media platforms. Once facts are ascertained, we will start a probe. We will investigate if Manorama Khedkar has a licence for the firearm," news agency PTI quoted a senior Pune Rural police official as saying.
In connection with the episode, farmer Kuldeep Pasalkar claimed Manorama Khedkar was forcefully trying to usurp his land. "She has been threatening other farmers as well. She visited my plot along with some security guards and started threatening us while holding a firearm in her hand," Kuldeep Pasalkar alleged.
Who is Puja Khedkar?
Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer in Maharashtra, is accused of posing as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate in her UPSC candidature. She also claimed she was visually and mentally disabled but refused to take tests to corroborate her claims.
On Thursday, the Union government constituted a single-member committee to verify the candidature claims and other details of Puja Khedkar following a controversy over her alleged misuse of power as a civil servant.
The Ministry of Personnel announced in a statement, emphasising that the committee is chaired by a senior officer of the rank of additional secretary under the central government and that it will submit its report in two weeks.
"The Central Government has constituted a single-member committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India, to verify the candidature claims and other details of IAS Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination 2022 and earlier CSEs. The Committee will submit its report in 2 weeks," reads the ministry of personnel statement.