A Pune court has granted interim protection to Dilip Khedkar, the father of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, until July 25. This decision comes in the context of a case involving the alleged threat to a local farmer over a land dispute.
Dilip Khedkar, along with his wife Manorama Khedkar, is a co-accused in the case. Manorama Khedkar was arrested by Pune Rural police on Thursday.
Earlier this month, a video surfaced showing Manorama allegedly threatening people with a gun over a land dispute in Dhadwali village, located in Pune’s Mulshi tehsil in 2023.
Manorama, her husband Dilip, and three others are accused of threatening Pandharinath Pasalkar, a 65-year-old man, with a gun over a land dispute in Dhadwali village on June 4, 2023.
Following this incident, the Paud police in Pune rural charged the Khedkar couple and five others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 307, 144 (unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 147 (rioting), and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as under the Arms Act.
The First Information Report was registered after a viral video showed Manorama purportedly threatening individuals with a gun in Dhadwali village.
Meanwhile, their daughter Puja Khedkar is facing scrutiny regarding her claims about disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates in her Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) application, as well as her conduct during her tenure at the Pune collector’s office.
Earlier in the day, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced that it had registered a criminal case against Puja Khedkar for allegedly faking her identity to fraudulently gain additional attempts in the civil services examination beyond eligibility and has taken steps to debar her from future selections.
Khedkar, a 2023-batch probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is accused of misusing her power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled to during her training at the Pune District Collectorate in Maharashtra recently.
