Amid the ongoing controversy, probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in her first reaction after the UPSC action against her, said the law will take its course.
"Judiciary will take it's course; whatever it is there, I will reply to that," she said.
Khedkar, a 2023-batch probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is accused of misusing power and privileges, by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled for, during her training in Pune District Collectorate in Maharashtra recently. She was accused of bullying those around her and of placing a red-blue beacon (indicating high-ranking official) atop a private Audi (a luxury sedan) car used by her that also had 'Maharashtra Government' written on it during her stint.
Her reaction comes after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said it initiated a series of actions, including the registration of a police case, against her for fraudulently availing attempts in the civil services examination by faking her identity.
UPSC also issued a show cause notice for cancellation of her candidature of the civil services examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations and selections.
Meanwhile, a sessions court in Pune has granted interim protection from arrest till July 25 to Dilip Khedkar, father of Puja, in a case of threatening a person with a gun over a land dispute. Pune Rural police, on Thursday, arrested Manorama Khedkar, his wife and Puja's mother, in the same case. Manorama was remanded in police custody till July 20.
