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Pune cops ask Puja Khedkar for statement on harassment charges against collector
Puja Khedkar had accused Pune district collector Suhas Diwase of harassment hours after the Maharashtra government put her district training on hold.
The Pune Police have asked controversial trainee Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar to record her statement on Thursday in connection with the harassment complaint filed by her against the Pune district collector.
Pune Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI on Wednesday that the rookie bureaucrat has been asked to provide her statement.
On Tuesday, Khedkar had accused Pune district collector Suhas Diwase of harassment hours after the Maharashtra government put her district training on hold. The 34-year-old officer has been recalled to Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and asked to join the academy by July 23.
When asked about the complaint filed against him, the Pune collector told PTI,"I am not aware of any such complaint against me. No one communicated to me about this. So there is no question of giving a reaction. I came to know about this complaint only through media reports."
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Khedkar was transferred from Pune to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector after her boss Diwase in a report to senior officials had complained against her conduct. She was accused of demanding the facilities which she, as a trainee IAS official, was not entitled to, and occupying the ante-chamber of a senior official.
She also faces accusations of using fraudulent means to clear her civil services exam, including allegedly misrepresenting herself under the physical disabilities and OBC categories.
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The Office of the Commissioner For Persons With Disabilities had written a letter to the Pune police and the district collectorate to verify the certificates submitted by Khedkar. The Pune Police said it will conduct an inquiry into the authenticity of medical certificates submitted by the probationary IAS officer.
Last week, the Union government had formed a single-member committee "to verify the candidature" of Khedkar and submit a report in two weeks.
