IAS probationary officer Puja Khedkar’s father has come in support of her daughter saying she was “victim of conspiracy” hatched by “someone”. Khedkar is facing probe for alleged misuse of power and violation of rules of appointment
Khedkar’s father Dilip Khedkar, who is a retired bureaucrat defended his daughter said her disability certificate was legitimate.
“There are many kinds of disabilities. Puja suffers from vision impairment, which is more than 40 per cent. Therefore she fulfils 40% criteria of the disability,” he said, as per HT report.
He also said “medical experts on a panel had verified her disabilities before issuing the certificate”.
Khedkar also said his daughter has “a certain category of mental illness which was also verified by medical professionals before the disability certificate was issued”.
Responding to a video clip of his wife brandishing a firearm on a disputed Mulshi farmland, which went viral on social media, following which an FIR was registered by the police, Khedkar insisted that the land belonged to the family.
“We officially purchased the land from another family and now they are creating hurdles for us,” he was quoted as saying.
He added the family has issued a statement in this regards through advocate Ravindra Sutar, which stated Khedkar’s wife Manorama had carried the weapon for self-defence and that she had permission to possess the gun.
On question of his daughter’s recent transfer from Pune to Washim, after she was blamed of high handedness in office by Pune district collector. Khedkar said: “Things are not as they seem from the outside. Only we know what happened at the collector’s office and how he behaved with us.”
