IAS Officer Puja Khedkar's Mother Booked After Video Of Her Brandishing Gun Goes Viral

The Pune Rural Police have registered an FIR against Manorama Khedkar, Dilip Khedkar, the parents of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, and five others.

The FIR was based on a complaint by a farmer who alleged that he was threatened by Manorama.

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According to news agency ANI, the FIR was filed on Friday night at the Paud police station under sections 323, 504, 506 of the IPC, with charges under the Arms Act also included. Senior police inspector Manoj Yadav confirmed the details.

The FIR was registered after a video showing Manorama Khedkar threatening a group of men with a gun went viral. The Pune Rural Police stated on Friday evening that a probe would begin to ascertain the facts, including whether she possessed a license for the firearm.

A police official explained that the incident in the video was related to a land parcel bought by Dilip Khedkar, a retired Maharashtra government officer, in Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil. Locals claimed that the Khedkars had encroached on the land of neighboring farmers.

The two-minute video shows Manorama Khedkar, accompanied by security guards, in a heated argument with neighbors. She can be seen yelling at a man with a pistol in her hand, waving it in his face before concealing it.

"We have taken cognisance of the video that is circulating on social media platforms. Once facts are ascertained, we will start a probe. We will investigate if Manorama Khedkar has a licence for the firearm," a senior Pune Rural police official told PTI.

Farmer Kuldeep Pasalkar, who filed the complaint, claimed Manorama Khedkar was trying to usurp his land, reported Hindustan Times.

"She has been threatening other farmers as well. She visited my plot along with some security guards and started threatening us while holding a firearm in her hand," Pasalkar alleged.

Puja Khedkar controversy

Puja Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer in Maharashtra, faces accusations of posing as an OBC non-creamy layer candidate in her UPSC candidature. She also claimed to be visually and mentally disabled but refused to undergo tests to corroborate her claims.

On Thursday, the Union government constituted a single-member committee to verify her candidature claims and other details following controversy over her alleged misuse of power.

"The Central Government has constituted a single-member committee, chaired by a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India, to verify the candidature claims and other details of IAS Puja Manorma Dilip Khedkar, a candidate of Civil Services Examination 2022 and earlier CSEs. The Committee will submit its report in 2 weeks," stated the Ministry of Personnel.