Interim Protection Granted to Father of Embattled IAS Officer Amid Land Dispute Controversy

A sessions court has granted interim protection from arrest to Dilip Khedkar, father of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, till July 25. He is accused in a land dispute case involving threats with a gun. His wife, Manorama Khedkar, was arrested and remanded in police custody until July 20.

A sessions court in Pune has granted interim protection from arrest to Dilip Khedkar, the father of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, until July 25. Dilip Khedkar is accused of threatening a person with a gun over a land dispute.

Manorama Khedkar, his wife, and mother of Puja, was arrested by Pune Rural police on Thursday in connection with the same case and has been remanded in police custody until July 20.

Dilip Khedkar has sought pre-arrest ('anticipatory') bail. The court's decision provides him 'ad-interim protection from arrest' until the next hearing date of July 25. If police arrest him before that date, he will have to be released on bail, according to his lawyer.

A case has been registered at Paud police station against Dilip and Manorama Khedkar, along with five others, under Indian Penal Code sections including 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation), as well as under the Arms Act. The FIR was filed after a viral video appeared to show Manorama threatening individuals with a gun. This incident reportedly took place in 2023 at Dhadwali village in Pune's Mulshi tehsil.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has separately lodged a criminal case against Puja Khedkar for falsifying her identity to exceed the examination attempt limit for the civil services. Steps have been initiated to debar her from future selections.