Pune Police on Thursday arrested Manorama Khedkar, the mother of controversial Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm days after a video of her waving a pistol in front of a man at what looked like a farmland went viral.
Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh said on Thursday Manorama Khedkar was detained from Mahad. Manorama Khedkar was hiding in a lodge at Hirkaniwadi in Mahad, according to the police.
The Khedkar family is mired in controversy which started after Puja Khedkar, a 2023 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer was transferred from Pune to Washim over her 'VIP demands.
Puja Khedkar later faced allegations of securing a position in the IAS by taking the civil services exam under the Other Backward Class (OBC) – with less than Rs 8 lakh annual income – and visually impaired categories and submitting a mental illness certificate.
Amid Puja Khedkar's controversies, her mother last week was in the limelight over a purported old video of her going viral, showing her yelling at a man while waving a pistol over an alleged land dispute.
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Defending Puja’s mother Manorama, Dilip Khedkar said “The media and others are showing only one video clip. The day before that incident, a local aggressively approached her with a stick. In such a situation, should she have stayed silent? She possesses a licence to carry the gun for self-defence”.
Puja Khedkar has so far been in news for her demands, misusing benefits under the physical disabilities category, violations on beacon and VIP number using her Audi car, leaked WhatsApp chats showing her asking for special arrangements, 21 challans on her private vehicle and more.
Amid the row, the government on Tuesday put on hold the 'district training program' of Khedkar, who was earlier transferred to Washim as a supernumerary assistant collector from Pune, as she was summoned back to the Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for "necessary action".
In more trouble for the family, the Pune ACB received a complaint seeking an open inquiry against Puja Khedkar's father Dilip Khedkar, a retired government officer in connection with alleged disproportionate assets, a senior official said.
Dilip Khedkar and Manorama Khedkar were untraceable after police registered an FIR against them over the video purportedly showing Manorama threatening some persons with a gun following a land dispute in Mulshi tehsil of Pune district.
