The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the provisional candidature of controversial IAS trainee Puja Khedkar and debarred her from taking future exams.
A Show Cause Notice (SCN) was issued by the UPSC to Khedkar, a provisionally recommended candidate of the Civil Services Examination-2022 (CSE-2022) on July 18 for fraudulently availing attempts beyond the permissible limit provided for in the Examination Rules by faking her identity.
She was asked submit her response to the SCN by July 25. However, she requested for further time till August 4 so that she could gather the necessary documents for her response but she was given until July 30 to submit the documents, which she failed to do.
The commission also said that it reviewed 15 Years of CSE Data of more than 15,000 recommended candidates from the year 2009 to 2023 but found no other irregularities.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch allegedly booked Khedkar on July 19 for misusing the disability and Other Backward Class (non-creamy layer) quotas to secure her candidature in the civil services exam.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) filed a police case against Khedkar for allegedly fraudulently availing the civil services examination by faking her identity to take the exam beyond the permissible number of attempts.
A dedicated team led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) level of the Crime Branch was tasked to collect the documents from various government departments.
A case under sections 420 (cheating), 464 (making a document in the name of a fictitious person), 465 (forgery) and 471 (passing off a forged document as genuine) of IPC and under sections 89 and 91 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and 66D of the Information Technology Act was registered against Khedkar.
Allegations Against Pooja Khedkar
Khedkar, a 2023-batch IAS officer, who was a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, was transferred to Washim from Pune earlier this month amid allegations that she misrepresented herself under the physical disabilities category.
During her stint in Pune, she allegedly misused power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled to. She is also accused of availing the OBC and non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC.
Following the allegations against her, her probation period was put on hold and she was recalled to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Uttarakhand’s Mussoorie.
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