Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Responds To Fake Certificate Allegations: 'Proving Guilty By...'

Facing allegations of misusing the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota and disability provisions to secure a position in the civil service, probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar stated on Monday that the truth will prevail after her submission is made before the central committee probing the charges.

"I will testify before the committee. It is believed that whatever decision is made by the committee should be acceptable to all," Khedkar told reporters in Washim. "My job here as a probationer is to work and learn, and that is what is being done. Comments on this cannot be made," she said, as reported by Hindustan Times.

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Puja Khedkar Responds To Fake Certificate Allegations

Intense media scrutiny has been focused on Puja Khedkar after a controversy erupted over her reported demands for separate office space, an official vehicle, and other privileges. It was later alleged that the OBC quota and Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) provision were misused by Khedkar, the daughter of a retired bureaucrat, to secure a position in the civil service.

Her father, Dilip Khedkar, contested the Lok Sabha elections and declared property worth ₹40 crore in his poll affidavit, raising questions about Puja's non-creamy layer certificate, as reported by Hindustan Times.

A single-member committee has been constituted by the Centre to re-examine the documents submitted by Puja to secure her candidature in the civil services examination and subsequent selection for IAS. "The experts of the government (committee) will decide. Neither the media nor the public can decide," Puja said.

"Whenever the decision of the committee is made, it will be public and open to scrutiny. But right now, the investigation going on cannot be commented upon," she added. It was emphasized that the Indian Constitution is based on the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty, as reported by ANI.

"So, being proven guilty by media trial is wrong on everybody's part," she added. "Whatever my submission is, it will be given in front of the committee and the truth will come out," Khedkar said.

Puja was recently transferred from Pune to Washim after allegations of high-handedness during her probationary period at the Pune district collectorate. A controversy erupted over her reported demands for separate office space, an official vehicle, and other privileges.