Panel To Vet How Controversial IAS Officer Puja Khedkar 'Sneaked' Into IAS

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday constituted a single-member Committee "to verify the candidature" of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, amid allegations she misused the disability and Other Backward Class quota to secure a position in the service.

The probe would be conducted by an additional secretary-rank officer to verify the candidature claims and other details of the 2023 batch officer, who has been allotted the Maharashtra cadre. The report will be submitted in two weeks. In untangling the various strands of the Khedkar controversy, there are three aspects that swim into view: One, her OBC non-creamy layer status, which if it has been claimed, seems to be at a complete variance with her economic status, given her father's declared assets of Rs 40 crore; Khedkar seems to be way above the creamy layer.

Two, her disability status; there is some confusion over what kind of disability she has claimed. Reports suggest two kinds -- mental and visual impairment. Either seems unproven going by the number of times she seems to have dodged verification at the AIIMS; as many as six times, according to some reports.

System of verification

The question arises: Does the government have a fool proof system of verification of the disability and the OBC certificate claim? The UPSC, which selects the candidates for various streams of government services, does not do the verification. That is done by the Department of Personnel and Training -- the DOPT. This usually happens after a candidate has been selected, not before. This is a legal matter. Unraveling it could prove to be quite a task. The OBC certificates are usually provided right down at the level where it is applied for, usually at the village level by a revenue official or someone equivalent.

In most cases, it is unverifiable because the entire process is an infirm one where various states have various criteria. It may not be possible to drill right down to where the certificate was issued to determine its veracity. The disability certificate, on the other hand, is certified by a medical authority, usually from a government hospital.

Observers have noted that there are some behavioral problems related to the probationary IAS officer Pooja Khedkar, in the way she flaunts her status and asserts her entitlement. This is a disciplinary matter that can be quite easily settled, through counseling, or a rap on the knuckles or, if all else fails, the more extreme step of booting her out. It may be recalled that Khedkar was shunted out to Washim after Pune district collector Suhas Diwase wrote to state additional chief secretary Nitin Gadre requesting him to consider giving a posting to Khedkar in another district to avoid "administrative complications".

Diwase had sought action against Khedkar

Diwase had sought action against Khedkar for her behaviour, including alleged aggressive treatment towards junior staff, illegal occupation of the ante-chamber of additional collector Ajay More, and violations pertaining to sporting a red beacon on an Audi car and flashing it during the day, among others. On Thursday, Washim District Collector Buveneswari S said, "Probationer Puja Khedkar joined the district collector's office for training purposes as per the order of the Maharashtra State government order. She will be learning with various government departments during her training period." Pune police is set to conduct a thorough inquiry and take necessary action over the unauthorised use of a red-blue beacon light and the 'Maharashtra Government' inscription on Khedkar's private Audi car. The car was registered in the name of a private company and challans were issued against the vehicle in the past. When a team of Pune police reached the Khedkar bungalow in Pashan area on Thursday to inspect the Audi car over the violations of beacon and VIP number, they found the bungalow gates locked. When media landed, her mother shooed them away. For her part Puja Khedkar reported, “I am happy to join duty at the Washim District Collectorate and am looking forward to working here.”

Khedkar on allegations

Asked about the allegations against her, Khedkar told reporters, “I am not authorised to speak on the issue. Government rules don't provide (allow) me to speak on this.” Instead of the swanky Audi car with beacon Khedkar was seen alighting from a more humble Bolero car provided by the district administration. And, yes, Pune police is set to investigate the how she was driven around in a private car with government badge and beacon lights.