'Insulted': Former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar accuses Pune collector in letter

Sacked Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar wrote to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary last month accusing Pune Collector Suhas Dewas of Suhas Diwase “insulted” her from the first day of her training at the Pune District Collectorate.

In a July 11 letter, Khedka clarified her position on the ongoing controversy over her candidacy and leveled the accusation against Divase, citing Divase's complaint and subsequent media coverage. It caused her great pain and extreme discomfort.

Read more: UPSC cancels candidature of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar for certificate fraud and bars her from appearing in future exams

Dewas had written to chief secretary Nitin Gadre complaining about the “entitled conduct” of the now-sacked IAS trainee. After the complaint, Khedka was transferred to Washim for “arrogant behavior”.

“…because of this incident (letters and media reports), my image in the public eye has become that of an arrogant military officer. This has traumatized me and I feel very disturbed. According to the Indian Express, she was The three-page letter written in Marathi said: “I don’t know the reason but the Pune Collector has been insulting me since the day I joined the Probationary Officer.

She also clarified the allegation of removing the nameplate of a senior official of the Pune collector's office when he allowed her to use his front hall as her office. She said the officer voluntarily made the front room available to her and instructed his staff to set it up for her.

“The staff inquired about my needs and arranged stationery, etc. One day later, when the local collector Mr. Diwase returned to the office, he was told about my seating arrangement in the additional collector's front hall. Maybe he was angry about this, he The concerned Tessilda was summoned and ordered that my furniture be removed from the front hall,” she added in the letter.

What is Puja Khedkar Platoon?

Khedkar, an IAS officer of the 2023 batch and a former probationary assistant collector of Pune district collectorate, was accused of abusing her power and privileges by demanding benefits and facilities to which she was not entitled during training.

Read more: Former IAS trainee Puja Khedkar moves Delhi HC against UPSC’s decision to disqualify her candidature

She has come under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in the civil service selection process. She is accused of allegedly manipulating her identity to sit for civil service examinations more than the allowed number of times, according to a statement released by the commission.

Last month, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) disqualified Khedekar's candidature and barred her from appearing for future examinations. On August 1, the trial court rejected her anticipatory bail, saying the charges were serious ones that “need to be thoroughly investigated”.