TOI News Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM /Updated: Aug 1, 2024, 16:48 IST
A Delhi court denied anticipatory bail to IAS trainee Puja Khedkar following her disqualification by the UPSC due to cheating allegations. The court directed Delhi Police to expand their investigation into other candidates’ misuse of OBC and disability benefits. khedkar, embroiled in controversies over entitlement misuse, had her candidature and future prospects permanently revoked by UPSC.
Puja Khedkar (File photo)
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Puja Khedar, an IAS trainee officer whose candidature was cancelled by the UPSC on Wednesday in the backdrop of alleged cheating and and forgery cases. Denying anticipatory bail to Puja Khedkar, Patiala House Court’s additional sessions judge Devender Kumar Jangala directed the Delhi Police to “widen the scope “The investigation agency needs to widen the scope of the investigation. The agency is directed to find out the candidates recommended [by the UPSC] in recent past who have availed benefits beyond permissible age limit under OBC quota and those who availed Persons with Benchmark Disabilities benefits despite not being entitled to it,” the court ordered according to Bar & Bench. Devender Kumar Jangala said Delhi Police “must also investigate if anyone from inside the UPSC helped Khedkar”.
On Wednesday, the UPSC found Puja Khedkar of violating rules and debarred her from all the future exams and selections. “The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and she has also been debarred permanently from all the future Examinations/Selections of the UPSC,” the government said in a statement. UPSC also said that in lone case of Khedkar, it could not only her name but also her parents’ name”. The UPSC affirmed that it is in the process of further strengthening the SOP to ensure that such a case does not recur in the future
What was the controversy?
Puja Khedekar, 34, had come under intense media scrutiny following allegations of demanding a separate office and following allegations of demanding a separate office and official car, along with the unauthorised use of a beacon on her private Audi car. Initially stationed in Pune, Khedkar was transferred to Washim by the Pune district collector amidst the controversy.
However, her troubles did not end there. The government had subsequently put her ‘district training program’ on hold, summoning her back to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie for “necessary action.” Khedkar, who was under investigation for the authenticity of her disability and OBC certificates, claims she has become a victim of misinformation and “fake news.”