Trainee IAS officer ‘Puja Khedkar faked her identity’, UPSC issues notice

New Delhi: The UPSC has issued a notice to cancel selection of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar who is facing probe over several allegations against her.

It is reported that she falsely claimed visual and mental disabilities alongside faking her identity including changing the names of her parents to clear the Civil Services entrance exam, according to NDTV.

Alongside initiating a ‘series of actions’ against the 23-year-old, the notification issued on Friday said Khedkar "fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit".

The actions initiated against her include a police case for criminal prosecution, a show-case notice regarding the cancellation of her candidature and as a further action she could be removed from taking the entrance exam in the future.

It is reported that "... 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."

Meanwhile, the action against the Khedkar follows a report that the Maharashtra government submitted to the Centre; the report involves documents collated from various sources to verify Puja Khedkar's many claims, including physical disability and her OBC, or other backward class, status.

While being in Pune an Assistant Collector, she was transferred as a Supernumerary Assistant Collector to Washim following media reports that she had secured perks like having a siren on her private car, which is not available to on-probation staff.

Subsequently there emerged allegations that she used fake disability certificates to qualify for the IAS nevertheless secured modest rank of 841 in the entrance test.

It is reported that Khedkar could be dismissed if found guilty in the investigation.