PUNE: The Pune police have detained Manorama Khedkar, the mother of IAS trainee Puja Khedkar, from Mahad on Thursday morning, Pune Rural SP Pankaj Deshmukh confirmed.
Manorama Khedkar had been issued a show cause notice by Pune police on June 13 over the misuse of a licenced gun. Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar issued a show-cause notice to Puja Khedkar’s mother after Manorama Khedkar, the sarpanch of Bhalgaon village in Ahmednagar, was seen waving a pistol during a heated argument in a viral video.
She had been asked to respond within 10 days. A case has been registered against her under the Arms Act in the Pune rural police jurisdiction on the complaint of a local farmer who alleged that Manorama Khedkar and others had threatened him.
On Wednesday, the Pune police issued a notice to Puja Khedkar, a probationary IAS officer, requesting her presence to record her statement regarding her harassment complaint against Pune District Collector Suhas Diwase. Khedkar is expected to provide her statement on Thursday.
This follows Puja Khedkar’s harassment complaint against Suhas Diwase with the Washim police, which led to her removal from the District Training Programme of the state government of Maharashtra on Tuesday. Subsequently, she was recalled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, putting her training on hold.
A letter from Nitin Gadre, Additional Chief Secretary (P), stated, “LBSNAA, ,Mussoorie has decided to keep your district training programme on hold and immediately recall you for further necessary action”.
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar criticized the administrative set-up for the controversy, lamenting the lack of dialogue with the administration compared to previous times.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Pune has initiated an inquiry against Puja Khedkar’s father, Dilip Khedkar, regarding unaccounted wealth owned by the family.
Puja Khedkar, who secured an All India rank of 821 in the UPSC exams, has been accused of misusing her authority. The Pune Police are also investigating an Audi car used by Khedkar, with Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar confirming actions under the Motor Vehicles Act and the recovery of pending challans on the car. (ANI)