Not An IAS: How Puja Khedkar Faked Parents' Identities To Cheat UPSC

New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has cancelled the provisional candidature of probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar and barred her from all future examinations and selections. Issuing a statement, the Commission said "The UPSC has examined the available records carefully and found her guilty of acting in contravention of the provisions of the CSE-2022 Rules."

The statement confirmed that her provisional candidature for the CSE-2022 (Civil Services Examination-2022) has been "cancelled" and she has been "debarred permanently" from all future UPSC examinations or selections.

The commission issued a show cause notice (SCN) to Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar on July 18 for "fraudulently" availing attempts beyond the permissible limit in the examination by "faking" her identity.

She was required to submit her response to the SCN by July 25 but requested an extension until August 4 to gather the necessary documents. 

The UPSC granted her a "final opportunity" to submit her response by 3:30 pm on July 30. However, she "failed to submit her explanation within the prescribed time," as stated by the commission.  

How Puja Khedkar Cheated? UPSC Reveals

Khedkar deceitfully claimed to have visual and mental disabilities and altered her identity to pass the Civil Services entrance exam. She bypassed the six-attempt limit for general category candidates by taking the highly competitive test multiple times under different names.  

She had also altered her parents' names, evading detection by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). 

"From the investigation, it has been revealed that she fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limit under the Examination Rules by faking her identity by way of changing her name, her father's and mother's names, her photograph/signature, her email ID, mobile number and address," the UPSC said in a statement. 

Puja Khedkar Case

Earlier this month, Khedkar grabbed headlines after reports surfaced about her alleged demands for a separate office, an official car, and the unauthorized use of a beacon on her private vehicle. The Pune police had visited her residence to investigate her use of an Audi car, which is suspected to have violated service regulations.

Khedkar, who secured an all-India rank (AIR) of 821 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams and was serving as a probationary IAS officer, was transferred from Pune to the Washim district of Maharashtra after Pune collector Suhas Divase wrote a letter to the chief secretary of Maharashtra. 

The Delhi police had also filed an FIR against her following a complaint lodged by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). 

Earlier this week, a Pune court sent Puja Khedkar's mother, Manorama Khedkar, to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with a criminal case involving a land dispute. She was arrested for allegedly threatening farmers with a pistol over the land dispute in Pune district last year.