Debarred from taking any Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations in the future, controversial former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating and forgery, had faked her identity at least seven times to appear for the civil services examination between 2012 and 2023.
Khedkar faked her identity by not just changing her name in her civil services examination application but also using different names for her father and mother.
She is even accused of changing her photograph/signature, her email ID, her residential address as well as her phone number.
Details of how Puja Khedkar changed her name seven times to appear UPSC exams:
In Delhi’s Patiala House Court, on Thursday, the Delhi Police pointed out discrepancies in the records as applied by Khedkar for the UPSC exam. Following are the details of how she forged her identity, claiming to be from the OBC category and lying about her physical disability to qualify civil services examination more than six times permitted for a general category candidate.
2012
In her application in 2012, she mentioned her name as Khedkar Puja Deeliprao. She recorded her father’s name as Khedkar Deeliprao Kondiba and her mother’s as Khedkar Manorama Deeliprao. That year she mentioned not being part of the PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) category
For the unversed, her father’s real name Dilip Khedkar, who is a former Maharashtra government officer, had property worth Rs 40 crore. Her mother’s name is Manorama Khedkar
2018
Puja Khedkar applied for the civil services exam again in 2018 and this time she faked her name to Puja Deelip Khedkar. She mentioned her father’s name as Khedkar Deelip Kondiba and her mother’s as Budhwant Manorama Jagannath.
She also mentioned being a part of the PwBD category and cited blindness and low vision as disabilities.
2019
The very next year, she again applied for the UPSC exam and mentioned her name as Khedkar Puja Deeliprao. This time she mentioned her father’s name as Khedkar Deeliprao K and her mother’s as Budhwant Manorama J.
In 2019 too she applied in the PwBD category, citing blindness and low vision.
2020
In 2020, she applied again but didn’t change her and her parents’ names. This time she cited low vision for opting for the PwBD category.
2021
In her next attempt in 2021, she changed her identity and used Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar as her name in the exam application.
This time she mentioned her father’s name as Dilip Khedkar and her mother’s name as Manorama Budhwant.
In 2021 too she applied in the PwBD category and mentioned multiple disabilities (VI) and mental illness.
2022
In her sixth attempt in 2022, she didn’t change her name but faked her parents’ identity. She used Dilip K Khedkar as her father’s name and Manorama J Budhwant as her mother’s.
This year too she applied to PwBD and cited multiple disabilities (VI) and mental illness.
2023
In her seventh attempt in 2023, before she got selected, she mentioned her name as Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar. This time she changed her father’s name in the application to Dilip Khedkar and her mother’s to Manorma Budhwant.
She cited “multiple disabilities” as she availed for the PwBD category.
In the 2023 UPSC exam, she secured an all-India rank (AIR) of 841.
Khedkar was booked by the Delhi Police’s crime branch in July for misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam.
On Wednesday (July 31), the UPSC cancelled Puja Khedkar’s provisional candidature and permanently debarred her from all future exams/selections.
The Commission said that it had “thoroughly” examined the available data of more than 15,000 finally recommended candidates of the civil services examinations for 15 years, between 2009 to 2023, and found that “barring the case of Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar, no other candidate has been found to have availed more number of attempts than permitted under the CSE Rules.”
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UPSC cancels Puja Khedkar’s candidature, debars her from all future exams, selections
On Thursday, Delhi’s Patiala House Court rejected Khedkar’s anticipatory bail plea, saying, “Custodial interrogation of the accused is required to unearth the whole conspiracy and to establish involvement of the other persons involved in conspiracy.”
Also Read:
Double whammy for Puja Khedkar: After UPSC’s action, anticipatory bail plea gets rejected
Amid this, there are reports that Khedkar has fled to Dubai to evade arrest.
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Fearing arrest, has Puja Khedkar fled to Dubai?
Previously a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, Khedkar was transferred to Washim in July amid allegations of misrepresenting herself under the physical disabilities category.
During her tenure in Pune, she allegedly misused power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled to.
This along with the accusation of her improperly availing the OBC and non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC exam forced the commission to put her probation period on hold and recall her to the IAS academy in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand. The deadline was July 23 and she did not show up there either.
She is not traceable and her mobile number is also switched off.
Link to article –
Here’s how Puja Khedkar faked her identity 7 times & qualified for IAS
