IAS probationer Pooja Khedkar's mother sent to police custody
Manorama Khedkar, mother of trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Khedkar, has been remanded in police custody until July 20. She was arrested on Thursday after a video of her allegedly threatening a farmer with a gun over a land dispute surfaced last week. A farmer filed a complaint against her days after the video went viral. Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, Pankaj Deshmukh, said she was arrested from a lodge in Mahad in Raigad, where she was hiding.
Manorama used fake Aadhaar card to get a room
According to NDTV, Manorama used a fake Aadhaar card to get a room at the lodge in Maharashtra's Raigad district. She had booked a private cab to get to the lodge and was living there with the cab driver, whom she introduced as her son, sources in the police told the channel. She is facing multiple charges, including attempt to murder.
Charges filed under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Arms Act
Her husband, Dilip Khedkar, and five others have also been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including Section 323 pertaining to dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property. They are also charged under the Arms Act. The Pune Rural Police announced last week that they are investigating whether Manorama had a valid license for the firearm used in the incident.
Anti-Corruption Bureau investigates Pooja's father
Separately, the Pune Anti-Corruption Bureau unit has received a complaint seeking an open inquiry against Dilip, a retired government official, in connection with alleged disproportionate assets. An investigation is already underway by the ACB's Nashik division into these allegations. He is also found to have been suspended twice on charges of corruption, once in 2018 and again in 2020.
IAS trainee's career under scrutiny
The family first grabbed headlines when their daughter, Pooja, was accused of misusing her power by using a red siren, VIP number plates, and a "Government of Maharashtra" sticker on her private Audi car. She is also under investigation after she was found to have allegedly submitted fake disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) certificates to clear the civil services exam. She has now been recalled to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for "necessary action."
