Maharashtra: Puja Khedkar's mother gets bail in criminal intimidation case

Puja Khedkar`s mother Manorama Khedkar being produced before a court. File Pic/PTI

A Pune court in Maharashtra on Friday granted bail to Manorama Khedkar, mother of former probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in a criminal intimidation case connected to a land dispute, reported the PTI.

Additional sessions judge AN Mare granted bail, Manorama Khedkar's counsel advocate Sudhir Shah said, as per the PTI.

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Pune rural Police had launched a search for Manorama and her husband Dilip Khedkar after a video surfaced showing her allegedly threatening some persons with a gun over a land dispute at Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil in 2023.

Pune's Paud police had booked the Khedkar couple and five others under IPC sections, including 307, 144 (unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 147 (rioting) and 506 (criminal intimidation) besides invoking the Arms Act.

Manorama was apprehended from a lodge in Hirkaniwadi village near Mahad in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

Dilip Khedkar has got anticipatory bail in the case.

Meanwhile, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has canceled the provisional candidature of Puja Khedkar, an official statement had said on Wednesday.

It said that the decision was taken due to serious violations of examination rules for the Civil Services Examination 2022 (CSE-2022).

The statement further said that the UPSC found that Puja Khedkar had fraudulently used multiple identities to exceed the permissible number of attempts allowed under the examination rules.

It said that the UPSC had issued a Show Cause Notice to Puja Khedkar on July 18, 2024, demanding an explanation by July 25, 2024. Puja Khedkar requested an extension, which was granted until 3:30 pm on July 30, 2024.

"The UPSC made it clear that this would be the final extension and that no further requests for more time would be entertained. Despite the additional time, Puja Khedkar did not submit her response," the statement said.

It stated that the UPSC thoroughly reviewed her case and confirmed that Puja Khedkar had allegedly violated the examination rules. As a result, her provisional candidature was canceled and she has been permanently barred from participating in any future UPSC examinations or selections.

"In a broader review of examination records spanning 15 years (from 2009 to 2023), the UPSC found that Puja Khedkar was the only candidate who had used fraudulent methods to exceed the allowed number of attempts," the statement said.

It said that the case was not detected earlier due to Puja Khedkar's use of 'multiple names and altered personal details'.

(with PTI inputs)