Pune Session Court Grants Interim Protection to IAS Officer's Father Amid Land Dispute Controversy

Dilip Khedkar has been granted interim protection from arrest in a land dispute case. His wife, Manorama Khedkar, is currently in custody. Their daughter, probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, faces charges of fraud in a separate incident involving misuse of identity. A property linked to Manorama is also under scrutiny.

A Pune Session Court has granted interim protection from arrest until July 25 to Dilip Khedkar, father of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar. He is accused of threatening a local farmer over a land dispute. Khedkar filed an anticipatory bail plea on Friday.

Khedkar and his wife, Manorama Khedkar, are accused of allegedly threatening a local farmer over a land dispute. Manorama was arrested on Thursday and remains in police custody until July 20.

In a related development, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has sealed a company named ThermoVerita linked to Manorama Khedkar for alleged tax defaults amounting to Rs 2.77 lakh. The controversy unfolds as probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar allegedly used the company's address to obtain a disability certificate fraudulently.

Shekhar Singh, Commissioner of PCMC, stated, "The property tax for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 for Thermoverita India Pvt. Ltd has been pending for the last two years. Additionally, the current year's outstanding dues are also unpaid. As their dues remained unpaid, we initially issued notices and subsequently disconnected their water supply as a graded response. Since the dues have been outstanding for the last two years, our next step was to seal the property."

Singh added that the total outstanding amount for the last two years is Rs 1.96 lakh, and including the current year's dues, the total comes to Rs 2.77 lakh.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) stated on Friday that it has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against IAS probationer Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar for allegedly "faking her identity to fraudulently avail attempts beyond the permissible limit."

The Commission has also issued a show-cause notice for the cancellation of her selection and debarment from future examinations. The investigation revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond permissible limits by altering her identity details, including name, photograph, and contact information, the UPSC said in a press release.

Khedkar was a provisionally recommended candidate for the Civil Service Examination, 2022.