Pooja Khedkar controversy: WhatsApp chat reveals new details about Maharashtra IAS officer

Pooja Khedkar, an IAS trainee officer, was transferred from Pune to Washim in central Maharashtra on Tuesday over alleged misuse of power.

Published on: Jul 11, 2024, 13:06:30 IST

By HT News Desk

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WhatsApp chats of the IAS trainee officer Pooja Khedkar, who was transferred from Pune to Washim in central Maharashtra on Tuesday over alleged misuse of power, revealed new details about the probationary bureaucrat. The WhatsApp chats revealed that Pooja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, demanded a separate office, house, car, and staff before taking charge as an assistant collector.

Pooja Khedkar also sought special treatment, revealed her WhatsApp chats with Pune district collector Suhas Diwase IAS, India Today reported.

ALSO READ | Who is Pooja Khedkar? 6 things about controversial trainee IAS officer in Maharashtra

Pooja Khedkar recently found herself in the middle of controversy after using her private Audi car with a red beacon light and VIP number plate.

The chats revealed that Pooja Khedkar demanded special treatment from the district collector multiple times. She asked the collector for a designated cabin and vehicle before her joining on June 3, 2024, revealed the WhatsApp chats.

The officer currently on probation period was informed that she was not entitled to such facilities during her tenure as a trainee. However, she was told that she would be provided accommodation.

The district collector had flagged these unusual demands to the Maharashtra chief secretary.

Khedkar has been ordered to serve as a supernumerary Assistant Collector at Washim till July 30, 2025.

She was also accused of removing the nameplate of additional collector Ajay More's office, reported HT.

News agency PTI reported that Khedkar allegedly submitted a fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificate. She has also submitted a mental illness certificate. She was asked to report to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi in April 2022 for the verification of her disability certificate, but she failed to do so, stating a Covid infection, reported PTI.

Khedkar's father Deelip Khedkar is a former bureaucrat who contested from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra in 2024 Lok Sabha Elections as a Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi candidate. He has also been accused of pressuring the district collector's office to ensure that the trainee officer's demands have been met.

(With inputs from news agencies)

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