The Union Public Service Commission has issued a notice to cancel selection of trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who was being investigated for lying about visual and mental disabilities and faking her identity (including changing the names of her parents) to clear the Civil Services entrance exam.
A notification issued Friday afternoon said Ms Khedkar "fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit", and the UPSC had "initiated a series of actions against" the 23-year-old.
These include Delhi Police filing charge, which include forgery, under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and IT Act. The UPSC has also sent a show-cause notice asking Ms Khedkar why her candidature should not be cancelled. Further action will depend on Ms Khedkar's reply.
This could include disbarring her from taking the entrance exam in the future.
"… the UPSC stringently adheres to its Constitutional mandate, and conducts all its processes, including all examinations, with the highest possible order of due diligence without any compromise. The commission is committed to ensuring… trust and credibility remains intact."
Speaking to reporters later on Friday, Ms Khedkar said, "Now the judiciary will take its course. Whatever questions there are, I will respond to them."
Action against Ms Khedkar came hours after the Maharashtra government submitted a report to the centre, specifically the Department of Personnel and Training.
READ | In Probe Report On Puja Khedkar, Corruption And Misuse Of Power
This report is a collection of documents collated from multiple sources to test Puja Khedkar's many claims, including physical disability and her OBC, or other backward class, status.
It includes mention of Ms Khedkar's alleged abuse of power during her first posting.
She had been sent to Pune an Assistant Collector, and later transferred to Washim. This was after news broke she had secured perks, like a siren on her private car, not available to on-probation staff.
READ | “Regret…”: Trainee IAS Officer’s Disability Request Denied
Once those allegations surfaced, they were followed by others that said she used fake disability certificates to qualify for the IAS despite a very modest all-India rank of 841 in the entrance test.
READ | “Someone Doubted…”: Doctor On Trainee Officer’s Disability Claim
News also emerged of how she tried to secure those fake certificates, first approaching a hospital in Pune, which turned her down, and then succeeding at another in Pipri, which diagnosed her with an "old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability".
Sources told NDTV Ms Khedkar could be dismissed if found guilty.
Earlier this week she was recalled from Washim to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie, where future government officers are trained.
On Wednesday Ms Khedkar, who has been largely silent since the row broke, counter-attacked by accusing the Pune Collector, Suhas Divase, of harassment. The complaint was made late night (past 11 pm) at her home in Washim. She had summoned three female police officers to her residence.
Mr Divase has said he has not yet received a copy of the complaint but has denied all charges.
READ | “Please Get It Done Before I Join…”: Puja Khedkar’s Messages
Earlier his office had released a report with screenshots of Ms Khedkar's WhatsApp chats with an unidentified official. In the messages she sought details about perks not available to probationary staff.
Ms Khedkar has also accused the press of conducting a “media trial”.
Meanwhile, her parents are now roiled in legal cases of their own.
Manorama Khedkar, her mother, has been charged with attempt to murder after an old video of her waving a gun in a man’s face went viral. She has been arrested and is in police custody.
Dilip Khedkar, her father, faces a probe by Pune’ Anti-Corruption Bureau after a complaint that his assets were disproportionate to his income. A retired state government officer, he had been suspended twice – on corruption charges – when he was working. He is still on the run.
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