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Manorama Khedkar (right) is currently in jail for allegedly threatening others with a gun over a land dispute in 2023. Retired government official Dilip Khedekar (left) is also an accused in the case and was granted anticipatory bail by a Pune court on Thursday. (Data map)
The federal government has directed Pune police to inform Puja's parents' marital status amid allegations that she fraudulently availed OBC non-creamy layer benefits in UPSC exams, claiming they were separated
The Pune police have submitted a report to the Maharashtra government on the marital status of controversial IAS trainee Puja Khedkar's parents, an official said on Friday.
Police officials told PTI that the couple Dilip and Manorama Khedkar were “legally separated”, without giving further details.
The federal government has directed the Pune police to inform Puja's parents about their marital status amid allegations that she fraudulently availed OBC non-creamy layer benefits in the UPSC examination, claiming that they were separated.
“We will send the report to the state government on Wednesday and it will be forwarded to the Centre,” the official said.
Puja Khedkar, an IAS officer of the 2023 batch, has been accused of abusing her power and privileges by claiming benefits and facilities to which she was not entitled during her probation period in Pune.
Last week, Delhi filed a criminal complaint against her for allegedly “distorting and falsifying facts”. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has also issued a show-cause notice for disqualification of her candidacy for the 2022 examination and is considering barring her from appearing in future examinations.
According to reports, in order to avail the Other Backward Class (OBC) non-Cream Layer quota in the UPSC examination, Khedekar claimed that her parents were separated and she was living with her mother.
In a mock interview before cracking UPSC, Khedekar was asked why her family income was shown as “zero” when her father was a civil servant. In a video interview that went viral, she said her parents had separated and she had no contact with him.
As per the rules, only candidates whose parents’ annual income is less than Rs 8 lakh can benefit from the OBC non-cream layer category.
Manorama Khedkar is currently in jail for allegedly threatening someone with a gun over a land dispute in 2023. Retired government official Dilip Khedkar is also an accused in the case and was granted anticipatory bail by a Pune court on Thursday.
(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is published by PTI)
