While the Central and state governments in India want to end red-tapism and babu culture, there are certain bureaucrats who want to get into the Indian Administrative Services only to flaunt their status and power and not to serve the public. IAS Dr Pooja Khedkar is facing such serious allegations. The Maharashtra government has transferred probationary IAS officer Dr. Pooja Khedkar from Pune to Washim following allegations of power misuse. According to an official order triggered by a letter from Pune Collector Dr. Suhas Diwase to the Chief Secretary, Dr. Khedkar will now take on the role of the supernumerary assistant collector in Washim district.
Who Is IAS Dr Pooja Khedkar?
Dr. Pooja Khedkar is a 2022 batch IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre. She secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 841 in the UPSC exam under the PwD quota. Her father Dilip Khedkar was a state government officer in Maharashtra. Documents presented to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) indicate that Dr. Khedkar showed that she took the UPSC exam under the OBC and visually impaired categories. Additionally, she provided a certificate for mental illness to secure her IAS posting.
What Is The Controversy?
IAS Khedkar is facing serious allegations of submitting fraudulent disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to gain entry into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Khedkar is also accused of changing her physical disability category from PwBD 1 to category 4m PwBD1 to PwBD5 due to which she got selected in the UPSC.
2. In 2021, Pooja selected as Assistant Director in sport authority in OBC PwBD 1 but in 2023, she mysteriously chanced her category 4m PwBD1 to PwBD5 & got selected as IAS. pic.twitter.com/IZJNdT1JqC
— The Story Teller (@IamTheStory__) July 10, 2024
Khedkar has been transferred to Washim after attracting controversy for seeking privileges she is not entitled to as a probationary officer. She landed in controversy after allegedly using a private Audi car equipped with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate with ‘Maharashtra government’ board on her personal vehicle.
Furthermore, she reportedly requested an official car with a VIP number plate, accommodations, an official chamber with staff, and a constable. She allegedly occupied the additional collector’s ante-chamber in his absence, replaced furniture without authorization, and asserted her authority by displaying her name on an office board.